


The World's Most Difficult Language

by ahenid



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, CEO Kim Wonpil, M/M, Minor Kim Dahyun/Minatozaki Sana, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Swearing, Translator Park Jaehyung, dowoon is a lovely smart child, like really slow burn deal with the idiots, mostly two guys falling in love, past abusive relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 60,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26030590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahenid/pseuds/ahenid
Summary: Park Jaehyung is a well-known Korean-English (and sometimes Spanish) translator within the business world. However, personal issues forced him to leave his country and move to South Korea, where his best friend lives... and where he might have to overcome his problems.Or: Younghyun wants a translator and Wonpil tries to make him hire Jae at some point.
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Park Jaehyung | Jae, Kim Wonpil/Park Sungjin
Comments: 36
Kudos: 93





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! This work is currently still being written, but the idea was stuck in my head for ages... Hope you enjoy the whole story.
> 
> And yes, I'm a parkian and sungpil enthusiast.

The dark-haired man looked up, at the sky, eyes closed while feeling small raindrops falling on his face and slowly coming down his cheeks. He wasn't crying, maybe because he was too tired for that.

Tired, huh. He wanted to laugh at that word. He was _beyond_ tired. He slowly opened his eyes, aware of his surroundings: some strangely quiet street in Los Angeles. The tall man was alone thanks to the rain, although sometimes he could see some people passing by with an umbrella, eager to get to their destination.

What was his, though?

He stared at his feet. It had ended, right? He was out. But why did he feel so alone? Why did he crave for his words, his eyes and his hands on him? Why did he desire to feel him in any way, whether it was a hug or something which would break his heart in pieces?

Why did he miss that man at all?

The phone rang again and he looked at it. His best friend was calling again. He slid one finger and accepted the call with his chaotic mind still piercing his heart, in an attempt of gaining some peace and, maybe, getting some help.


	2. First day in Seoul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae arrives to Seoul and goes somewhere

Certainly, he should have expected for the weather to be cold in Seoul, or at least colder than in Los Angeles. And he should have thought about grabbing some massive, warm coat to protect him from any illness which could appear from freezing outside an airport. However, Jaehyung had forgotten to look up several things and wasn't especially concerned about his health while looking at his phone, eager to receive a message or something.

The trip from LA to Seoul had been long, extremely long. These last weeks had been the worst of his life. Weeks? Months. Already two months had passed and he was feeling better, but his mood and whole being was still under the weather, totally and unavoidably broken in pieces. Well, who cared about that. Jaehyung was trying his best to overcome all and continue with his life, starting with a whole new place to live. Jeez, a whole new country, even a new continent. Maybe he should have moved to Mars or even Jupiter if he was so crazy to move so far. Maybe in Mars he would have found peace or, at least, gotten quite the views from the whole Earth. Not that he was into astronomy stuff, nor he wanted to be an astronaut. He found it boring, to be out there in a rocket risking your life to see some... rocks? Gas? Water that doesn't exist anymore? Wow, that was pointless and useless in his opinion.

Aside from his controversial thoughts about astronauts, the dark-haired had had a nice flight. Well, certainly it had been a bit hectic when some turbulences appeared and that woman in a white dress fainted and someone screamed the typical _is th_ _ere a doctor on board_ as in the movies. And it had gone downhill when, after that, two men got into a fight because one had spilt some tea on the other one's shirt. He couldn't forget when the flight attendant said that she was thinking about quitting and becoming a rock on the border of a path because she was done with all the mess some children on board were doing, too. Jaehyung had found that flight attendant a whole mood, maybe because he found those children annoying too. Usually, he liked children, and even desired some of her own (maybe he'd end up adopting in the future), but yeah. 

Rude children weren't his cup of tea.

Anyway, after that horrible flight in which he was more stressed than calm, he realized that he should call his best friend so he would come to get him. After all, he was going to stay for some days with him. Not too many, he hoped: he was expecting to find a new place after getting some money from some random job as soon as possible. When would that be, that was uncertain. But he still prayed to God, always a faithful believer.

As if God sent him a signal, his phone started to buzz. Wonpil was calling him. He took the call and put the phone close to his right ear since the entrance of the airport was quite loud and he couldn't almost hear anything on the other side. He yawned before saying anything, still tired after the flight and all. He wished so much that he could have slept some minutes while going through the sky. And the timezone difference wasn't really helping at all, since he knew that it was way darker in LA while the Sun was having the time of its life in Seoul, up there all high and mighty. Maybe he did need that sleep.

"Wonpil, may I ask where are you?" His voice sounded quite rusty, perhaps because he hadn't spoken to anyone in two or more days. He had no one to speak to since Wonpil was too busy for more than some messages. Jaehyung had missed him: until two months before he couldn't contact him at all (he wasn't allowed to). Since then, Wonpil had been his biggest supporter, even if they were miles away. And, yes, maybe Jaehyung liked to tease the younger because it was a fun activity to do, but he still cared a lot for the brunette and was grateful for everything the other one had done for him. 

"Behind you, hyung."

As Jae turned around he felt somebody jumping on him and hugging him. Wonpil's strawberry shampoo reached his nose and he smiled at the unfamiliar yet nostalgic scent. They had seen each other face to face for last time two years before, when Wonpil had had a weekend trip to LA and visited him. Jaehyung always found endearing how the younger fit between his arms, maybe because he was quite shorter than him. However, that didn't mean that Wonpil wasn't a strong man like any other, a strong man who was looking at him with puppy eyes and a sweet smile.

"Hyung, I missed you." Usually, Jaehyung would snap at his cute voice tone, but he let it slide just because he was tired and because he truly didn't care at all at that moment. "Come on, let me help you with your luggage." He watched Wonpil grab one of his suitcases and walk far from the airport's entrance. 

"That suit does look great on you. You even look like someone important," Jae joked and heard Wonpil's giggles. 

"Told you I would come right after work for you... which means that today I don't drive." Jae shot him a confused look. Wonpil pointed at a black car, which had an old man standing right next to it. He wore a uniform. "He's my driver... Not that I like to have one. He's here just for days like today when I don't really feel like driving." Wonpil shrugged his shoulders and approached the old man.

"I do forget sometimes that you're filthy rich, mister CEO." Jaehyung murmured, knowing that the brunette wouldn't hear him, and put his suitcases in the car's boot before sitting inside. Wonpil sat next to him, the excitement all visible in his eyes and, well, his whole face. Jaehyung stared at him with a sweet smile.

Jae hadn't lied: the younger one looked great with that light grey suit with a white shirt and a same-grey tie, even if the tie was quite lousy for the moment. Besides, Wonpil looked way more mature than the last time he had seen him. Yes, they did several video calls when they had the time and all, but it wasn't the same watching someone on a screen than having that person in front of your eyes, breathing and moving. Wonpil's jawline was a little softer, which indicated for the older one that he had been eating better; his eyes were sweeter; his smile, cuter; his hair was a lighter brown, perhaps because he had received a lot of sunlight... All these features made Kim Wonpil a cute and handsome young man who was the CEO of an important company in Seoul, with many branches in different countries.

Sometimes Jae remembered how Wonpil had been when they first met and the younger was starting on the family business, unsure of when he would receive the CEO place. The brunette had travelled to the USA for a meeting and Jae had been the interpreter for it. Afterwards, Wonpil had contacted Jae again and they had become friends after some days, and best friends after years. Jae had even assisted when Wonpil's father, the late CEO, had passed out after fighting a severe illness for years, and he had seen Wonpil becoming smaller, thinner and way more drawn after that... Although the younger seemed better off now.

And, as excited as he was, Wonpil talked about several matters with his hyung, who he loved a lot even if they teased each other... and who he was really worried of.

*****************************************************************

"You didn't need to overdo this."

After some minutes, they had finally arrived at Wonpil's place. Wonpil had thanked the driver and left him some tip, which the driver had thanked a lot. Afterwards, they got in the lift and went up to the top of the building, because Kim I'm-not-so-rich-hyung Wonpil owned a penthouse. A _fucking_ penthouse. Jae had opened his eyes widely at the luxurious place and had gasped when he saw his new room.

"I didn't overdo it... See, there's a bed with its blankets... and I hope you like this blue colour? I can change it if you don't... Anyway, there's a desk too so you can work or do whatever you want, a bathroom for yourself, a whole window which has quite the views for the sunset and, yes, that's a small balcony- but be careful not to fall, please! Also, I put some drawings you can always throw away if you dislike them and... Um... Some drawers and closets for your clothes, even if they're not so much... We need to go shopping, I guess. I didn't overdo it! And I hope you liked it!" Wonpil looked at him, nervous. Jae laughed.

"I love it, Pil." The younger one relaxed. Jae could see Wonpil's hard work and thoughtful self in every part of the room since he could notice some details related to stuff he liked, and Wonpil knew he liked. He felt quite loved by his best friend. He threw himself on the bed and almost fell asleep because it was soft and extremely comfortable. 

"Hyung, it is quite early but I know that the jetlag is bugging you. Do you wanna eat something and sleep already?" Jae heard Wonpil's concerned voice.

"I'm okay, I ate some sandwich I bought from a store in the airport while waiting for you. I only want to rest right now..." Jae's voice got smaller gradually and Wonpil smiled, noticing how his hyung was falling asleep.

"Okay, hyung. Rest. You deserve to fall asleep without any worries at all". They both knew the meaning after that sentence, but neither wanted to address the issue. 

Wonpil slowly left the room. Perhaps he should tell the older one that he would go to work early in the morning, or that he could go and do whatever he wanted to do. Or maybe he should make the other one change his clothes and wear a pyjama. Or just try to unpack his luggage and then rest. However, Wonpil had a soft spot for Jaehyung, who looked pitiful to him... Although he always thought that Jae was the cutest person in Earth after himself, just because he reminded him of a small kitty.

The brunette went to the kitchen with his head full of many thoughts. He should accompany Jae to get some clothes. Also, he had to ask the older one for a list of allergies, since he knew that he had many but not exactly _which._ And, perhaps help his hyung to find a job, even if the other one didn't want his help at all. Wonpil smiled. As for now, Jae seemed better than he imagined, but he didn't want to let his guard down. He still regretted not being there for Jaehyung, at least physically. He wanted to _somehow_ make Jae's life _better,_ even if he had to deal with his own daily struggles and problems.

He thought deeply in the job part while making himself a cup of tea and taking off his tie finally. He knew that the older one worked as a translator and interpreter. After all, that's how they met. And maybe Wonpil knew where Jae could work, but he didn't want to use his power to give the older one a job. However, he could pull some strings to make it happen. He nodded to himself, determined to let destiny play its part.

*****************************************************************

"Oh, I'm alone."

Jae sat on the sofa and started to eat some cereals while trying to wake up. Certainly, it was quite late since it was way past eleven o'clock in the morning. And he was alone. Of course, Wonpil would go to work. It was a Tuesday morning. Jae sighed heavily and finished his bowl of cereals. He should try to do something to keep his mind busy and not having any time to (over)think as always. He may be a thinker by MBTI, but it wasn't that he liked that. Anyway, he squinted, realizing how long his bangs were. Perhaps he should go somewhere and try to have his hair cut. Yes, that sounded like a nice method to avoid spending time alone!

Minutes after, he was on his way to find somewhere to cut his hair and maybe dye it. Jae quickly guessed that it would be a whole odyssey: Seoul was a bustling city (not as much as LA) and he had no specific destination in mind. He just walked around, eyes fixed on the ground, the sky or the different establishments' names, but never on people. He didn't want to cause them to stare at him; he wanted to be as invisible as a ghost. He did feel like one since he was quite pale and looked like he hadn't slept well for days.

Which was true, but nevermind that.

His feet brought him to a coffee shop. It looked comfortable from the outside and Jae was quite thirsty, so he went inside. A bell rang and informed that a new guest had arrived. Jae quickly sat down somewhere and waited for a waiter to approach him. After some minutes, a young woman did.

"Hello, welcome to Pandora. My name is Sana and I will take any order you have." The girl's smile was sweet and she was cute. Unfortunately, Jae wasn't interested in girls and never had been. 

"I'll have a cup of coffee. A cappuccino, not too hot, please."

"I'll come back in some minutes. Nothing else?"

"No, thank you." He smiled at the girl, who thought that the client was quite handsome and nice. Sometimes clients would be absolute jerks who tried to get her number or whatever, not thinking that she could have a girlfriend since some years before (which she had, and she was totally in love with her). 

Jae made himself comfortable on the seat and tried to relax. Lately, talking with strangers was something that made him feel too nervous, like he was too afraid of saying something that he shouldn't or just hurt someone or he didn't know anymore. Yes, he was an introverted person but he had become even shyer and close after... that issue. _Whatever._ It wasn't the time to think about his messy life, not when something else attracted his attention.

Well, or someone.

Jae hadn't noticed him before, but in front of him was a man sitting on one of the other comfy puffs near a window. Jae looked away, embarrassed of staring. However, since the other one didn't react, he stared again in awe: the man was wearing a suit, one leg crossed over the other and papers on his hands. Jae could see the jacket folded on another chair and the first buttons of the shirt unbuttoned, letting him see part of a collar bone. However, what made Jae stare the most was the other one's face, especially his eyes: they reminded Jaehyung of a fox. Jae found them beautiful.

Then those eyes stared at him suddenly and he almost choked, embarrassed because he had been caught looking at him, probably with an idiot expression. _Come on, Jaehyung. Be a grown-up. Act natural. Yeah._ He fidgeted on his seat, begging for the waitress to bring his cup already.

"May I help you?" Oh, great. Even his voice was soothing. Jae kept a calm facade while screaming internally. Talking with a stranger, okay. The other one smiled politely, waiting for an answer. However, Jae could see the annoyance on his eyes. He didn't know whether it was from the documents the stranger was reading or thanks to him, but he pleaded to be the first option.

"Yes... Huh..." His mind was running quickly. "Do you know any hairdresser near?" He blurted. The other one observed him silently. "I mean- I need to find one and... Huh..."

Then the other man chuckled and Jae felt even more embarrassed. 

"That was one of the weirdest questions I've received from a stranger ever." He looked amused, so Jae relaxed a bit. Only a bit. "Yes, there's one near. Once you go out, turn right and go straight for three blocks. Then turn right and you'll see a place for your hair." Jae nodded and thanked him. 

Sana finally gave him his coffee and Jae drank as quickly as possible to escape from the other man's presence. That, and that he wanted to change his looks since he had decided to waste his morning on that. I mean, spend. Of course. It wasn't an attempt of Jae trying to feel like he was doing something useful. Anyway, once he finished, he got up and approached the cash register to pay. He stared at the man behind it, who looked quite serious.

"A cappuccino, right? It will be 3600 won." Jae paid and then noticed a paper behind the man, on the wall. 'We need workers.' "Ah, yes. We need to hire a new worker right now... Are you interested?"

"Well, yes, I'm looking for a job," Jae admitted. He was thinking of sending some curriculums to some companies, but having some money already sounded great.

"Then come back tomorrow and we can talk calmly. I'll wait for you at eight o'clock, mister..."

"Park Jaehyung."

"Park Sungjin. I'm the owner of Pandora." The other one smiled briefly. "Until tomorrow, Mister Park."

"Yes... Thank you." 

Jaehyung left the shop quite confused: he had gone inside for a coffee and went outside after a weird conversation with a stranger and a job offer. Life was chaotic, indeed. _Whatever, let's go with the flow... It was right first, right?_

Somehow, Jaehyung didn't get lost and could get back to Wonpil's penthouse hours later, with a new hair colour and a nice smile on his face.


	3. A busy day at work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Younghyun goes on with his Tuesday and talks with Wonpil.

Younghyun was the kind of guy who loves to be busy, the kind of person who often is described as a perfectionist and workaholic... And the kind of human who loved having some routine in his daily life, as life was always chaotic and all. He was the kind of person to just try to portray a perfect image of himself wherever he went, whoever he spoke with and whenever the time to show his perfect, white teeth and beautiful smile was. Part of that routine included going to the same coffee shop each day during his break time at work since it was quite near the company (about 30 minutes? away or so). He usually went alone, although sometimes he was accompanied by the CEO from the company, who he was friends with. 

In fact, it had been Wonpil who had introduced him to the Pandora place some years before. Younghyun found funny how much Wonpil disliked coffee, but would still go from time to time to the same place only to see the owner. The dark-haired was clueless of the details of the relationship between the two of them or how Wonpil had met mister Park, but he surely could notice how the brunette's face changed when he thought about his crush. Sometimes Younghyun wanted to butt in and help him since he was a good friend, but he knew that Wonpil wanted to do things his own way, even if it would be a long, long way to cross. Sometimes Younghyun found scary how Wonpil could switch into his serious façade and start to think of life as a chessboard game, causing the older one to shiver because he found the cute, playful Wonpil quite nicer and better in many aspects.

Anyway, Younghyun was in the middle of his daily break routine when something unusual happened. After knowing that one of the waiters would bring his order, which everyone in the shop knew of already, he started to read again some documents he had to review. However, he slowly felt a headache rising after reading some lines: as the person in charge of the Global Connection Section, he had to deal with several foreigner investors, as well as foreigner companies who wanted to make some business stuff with their company... He was even responsible for the communication with some branches of the company in other countries, which naturally were managed by natives. Therefore, he needed a whole group of translators working for him, translators who had to work between the foreign language and Korean.

And that day was one of those days when Younghyun felt like smashing his head against the nearest wall. _That would cause too much blood, though._ The man in the suit sighed after reading the 'translation' to Korean from some English original text. Even if it was a neat work, he could still see a literal translation from the source language, in addition to some grammatical (and non-grammatical) mistakes in the translation. He sometimes wondered why he had so many translators who were satisfied with that kind of work when it could be better and perfect. His section was the most important one within the company just because everyone knew that the one managing it was a perfectionist who achieved and surpassed any goal fixed by the company investors, administrators and even the CEO himself, who just smiled when he heard the news of the Global Connection Section being incredible.

There were many rumours about Younghyun: it was said that he was a harsh boss with his workers, always trying to exhaust them until they wanted to quit. Also, it was said that he had quite the freezing glance and the serious aura which prevented people from approaching him. _Not that I care about this, though._ He was used to it, and he knew that he was quite the loving boss. In fact, most of his workers were extremely comfortable with him. As long as they worked hard, Younghyun had nothing bad to say about them nor needed to nag them too much. However, sometimes he wondered if his stare was so piercing as people commented, like that moment when he looked away from those headache-making documents and caught a stranger watching him.

Something of the dark-haired guy in front of him made him curious. Perhaps it was when that person answered him with some kind of accent ( _maybe he has been abroad for too long?_ ) to his question ( _a totally polite one_ ) with one of the weirdest questions he had ever received from a stranger. Indeed, the other one was a weird man and Younghyun couldn't help but laugh at both the question and the other's dumbfounded expression. And after hearing him thank him, Younghyun went back to his reading time, feeling a little bit less annoyed than before (probably, because a good laugh always helped to release some stress...! Or so had he been told!). He noticed when the other one finished quite quickly his coffee and left the shop after some conversation with the owner.

In Younghyun's opinion, Park Sungjin was quite the average man. Of course, he hadn't spoken with him more than a few words, usually when Wonpil accompanied him. The CEO was the only person that Sungjin willingly smiled at, or so was Younghyun's conclusion after watching him from afar. It was not conscious stalking, he was just trying to figure out why his friend had a crush on a serious-looking man who focused a lot on working but was still nice and polite with the clients. The dark-haired could see that Sungjin, although average, was on the average-but-handsome side, especially when his eyes sparkled as bright as the stars while answering some phone call or text message. Perhaps he had already someone in his life, which made Younghyun quite sad for Wonpil and his unrequited love/crush/whatever it was. But Younghyun wasn't really the type of jumping into conclusions and, well, even if he felt curiosity (more or less) towards the owner of Pandora, he knew that it was none of his business whatever his personal matters were.

Therefore, the dark-haired finished his coffee after receiving his order from the always cheerful Sana and went back to the company, ready for some more work, work and... work. And papers. _I want a meeting with someone, and I want it soon, or I'll become one with these goddamn papers_. He noticed some people stepping aside and afar from him while he walked straight to the lift and refrained the impulse of sighing. Maybe he did care a little about his image, only a tiny bit. His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden vibration in his pocket: his mobile phone. A notification had arrived. He took his phone out and saw a new message.

**Kim Pil**

_ wanna hang out rn? _

Younghyun smiled at his phone and sent a quick 'okay' before pressing the button to the last floor, where the CEO had his office. Sometimes the dark-haired envied Wonpil just because he had a whole floor for himself and his secretary, a man named Bambam or something like that. Actually, Bambam had told everyone to call him that because his full name was too long to remember. The Thai man had even joked about his older brother's name, which was so long that he couldn't remember it and just call him by the shorter one. Younghyun could remember his first impression of the man, who had just moved from the Wang company when Younghyun was promoted to the boss of the Global Connection Sector: the Thai man had that kind of smile that made others comfortable around him. 

Besides, Bambam style was fascinating in many ways.

"Good morning, mister Kang. Mister Kim is waiting for you," The foreigner greeted him with a welcoming smile. Probably, glad of seeing some movement there: it wasn't the first time that the Korean had heard that Wonpil's secretary found sometimes his job boring due to the lack of people who went to see the CEO... and the huge amount of schedules he had to remind the brunette of. _He chose to work here... And he certainly seems more than satisfied with everything. Especially with his salary_. With that somewhat-funny comment in his head, Younghyun greeted back the Thai man and stepped inside the office of the CEO with a soft smile.

The dark-haired was sure that the only place which could be called 'home' in the whole building (which, of course, was owned entirely by the company) was Wonpil's office: aside from the typical furniture, such as a sofa, chairs, a desk, a window... the brunette had decorated it with several things which let strangers take a peek at his personality. For example, Younghyun always stared at the number of ancient photographs hanging on the walls, some from the time when Wonpil's father was the CEO and which Wonpil hadn't removed. In most of them appeared a young man and his child, a smiley small person who knew nothing about the real world out there. That innocence had long been gone from Wonpil's life, although Younghyun sometimes found it when Wonpil was naive as a child again in some matters.

But that was one of the secrets that Younghyun kept because he liked to observe the people he cared about.

Anyway, aside from the shortlist of trophies, paintings, photographs, even a goddamn plant ( _Wonpil doesn't take care of it, it's impossible! It would be already dead... Maybe it's made of plastic_ ), the place felt like a 'home' thanks to the usually cheerful CEO, who may be found behind his desk, reading some book or gobbling up some snack he bought just because he was hungry. Wonpil took breaks whenever he could due to his tight schedule, which included meetings, calls, many papers to read, hearing his secretary, hearing his mother on the phone and some more boring stuff which needed to be done by him. Sometimes the brunette had told him that his job, but Younghyun could see his passion towards it behind each of his actions. 

"Hyunie hyung, you finally came! I was waiting for you," The younger one greeted him with a smile.

"Yes, so I've heard from Bambam out there." Younghyun took a seat on the sofa, not really wanting to sit on the uncomfortable chairs. Wonpil noticed that, so he stood up and walked to the other sofa, still smiling.

"So? How is your day going? Because mine is quite boring."

"And that's why you called me?"

"Technically I texted you." Wonpil's playful tone made him smile. He loved in a non-romantic way his friend and his way of joking. Younghyun felt like he could relax and drop, maybe, his perfect image around him. "So? Stressful day?"

"Horrible." The older one pointed at the briefcase he carried around. "I need to send back some translation because some translators don't know how to do their goddamn work."

"Or maybe it's just that you're too perfectionist and that you want those documents to be perfect to avoid any problem with probably future alliances or... maybe investors? I'm not sure, but I bet that it's related to the business with the Lee company." Younghyun fidgeted, a little bit uncomfortable under Wonpil's inquisitive stare. He felt naked in front of those big brown eyes. The dark-haired cleared his throat. "I'll take that as a yes."

"You may be right," Younghyun admitted and Wonpil smiled satisfied. "However, that doesn't mean that I can't let these papers pass... I wonder why I keep these people under me, working, when I always have problems."

"Because you got attached to them and because they don't do such horrible work... They're just stressed as much as you are."

"I need to hire someone who can proof-read everything before it is handed to me... Sometimes my eyes hurt a little and I'm scared that I misinterpret something. I don't know all the languages in the world." Wonpil nodded at his words, deep in thought. Then he shook his head and just smiled. "However, something did make my day."

"Oh? What is it?"

"You know that I always go to Pandora, right?" The brunette softened his expression at the thought of the owner, Younghyun noticed. But he continued, "So I was annoyed reading all these papers when I noticed a man looking at me. And when I asked him if I could help him with something, he just asked me if I knew a hairdresser nearby..." Wonpil chuckled and Younghyun smiled. "It must be one of the most random questions I've received from strangers ever."

"Maybe that person is new to Seoul," Wonpil replied and tilted his head. "Like, there are many people who move in and out. I know one, of course."

"Your American friend?" Younghyun had heard the brunette talk a lot of that American he had been friends from years. "What was his name again?" 

"Well, he's always been called Jae." Younghyun nodded, not sure if he could remember his name after this conversation ended. He had quite the bad memory with names sometimes. 

"How is he doing?"

"Well, today I let him sleep. Like, he arrived yesterday more or less when I finished work here... I took him to my house since he'll stay in one of the guest room until he finds a new place and all that kind of stuff. He slept right after arriving, probably tired and quite confused due to the difference between timezones and all. You know, the jetlag effect." Wonpil nibbled on the snack he was eating, taking a moment to continue his not-so-healthy lunch.

"I'm sure that he will adapt quite soon... Maybe he's still asleep when you go back home." Younghyun joked. Wonpil laughed.

"Impossible. Hyung doesn't sleep so much and, besides, he's not you." The younger one teased him with a smile. Younghyun raised his hands with a smile.

"I declare myself guilty." They both laughed. Wonpil looked at his watch. "Are you waiting for something or someone? Wasn't your day boring?" He lifted one eyebrow, expecting an answer.

"I have later a meeting with the Wang family. Maybe we get in good terms and they lend us some of their resources in China. Maybe. Depends on how well I do... If it all goes well and quickly, I will take my time to visit Pandora to celebrate."

"Only to get your favourite meal: time with the owner, right?" Younghyun's teasing tone and words made Wonpil as red as a tomato fast. The younger one felt his cheeks burning. The older man chuckled. "I'm just teasing you as always, Pil."

"I know. It's not funny." The brunette pouted. "It's hard having a crush on someone who sees you only as a regular customer. If he knew how many cups of coffee I've taken only to speak with him..." Wonpil sighed. "It's been three years and I still can't get an opportunity to make a move, essentially because I don't know if he's interested. I don't know most of the things about him."

"Time will decide, Pil." Younghyun tried to comfort him. It had been ages since he last loved someone, but he could remember how everything the loved one did could affect him in a way or another. And he knew that Wonpil was quite sensitive.

"Time doesn't seem to be on my side, though." Wonpil looked at his phone. "Oh, Jae hyung just send me a message. See? He's awake. Anyway, Hyunie hyung, even if I don't want to, you should go back to work. I have a meeting to go, and by _go_ I mean _to drive to_." 

"I don't know why you hate to use the driver so much."

"Too obnoxious and luxurious for someone as me, who prefers to wear a pyjama with a bear face almost falling on the chest, bought in some market, that trying to memorize all the most expensive brands in the world, which my mother loves to buy from."

Younghyun stood up and looked around once more. Each time he met Wonpil, time just flew. Certainly, the office gave those 'home' vibes just because the owner felt like a safe space for everyone who met him unless they were a company worker. Workers only got to see the intimidating, serious Kim Wonpil, the one who saw life as a chessboard game, the one who used his charms to get those negotiations going just where he wanted, the one who acted stupider than he was but was honest, direct and sometimes harsh with his words, especially when he argued about something business-related. That Wonpil was scary to Younghyun, but he didn't really see it too much: he met more the soft Wonpil who loved to cuddle with people.

As he got out of the office and said goodbye to Bambam, who was getting ready to leave with his boss as his secretary and assistant, he recalled Wonpil's friend's name: Jae, huh. As far as he knew, he was a great person, or so said Wonpil. He only knew that the American was well-known for some reason in the USA ( _it's work-related, hyung_ , had been Wonpil's words), that Wonpil and he had met during one of those first business meetings of the company in the USA (in which Wonpil had gone as representative of the group) and that he wore glasses just for the aesthetic lately. Besides that, he didn't know more: nothing about the American's age, height, likes or dislikes, face... 

Wonpil was really secretive, too, with the reason for the sudden arrival of his friend. It wasn't the most typical thing to do, to move from one continent to another, moreover if you are well-established in the first one. Younghyun was curious about it, but the brunette had warned him to not ask him anymore because it was too personal and, well, Younghyun wasn't exactly Jae's friend so he didn't deserve nor needed to know. Wonpil was right, but Younghyun's curiosity for the American still had to be satisfied.

Maybe he could try and see it if he could meet him through Wonpil. Maybe he could practise speaking more English with that person. Or he could just forget about the man's existence, which he was going to do. After all, the existence of that man didn't disturb his life in any way, not like the man from Pandora. Younghyun smiled again at the memory. He wondered about that man and if he had got to the hairdresser okay.

  
  


Younghyun looked at his own hair in the lift's mirror. Maybe he should go to the hairdresser too. It sounded like a good idea. 

And with that in mind, the dark-haired strange man's image slipped out of his head and was buried until the very next day, only for the sake of concentrating in his work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I could finally update this fic, wow. Sorry for the delay, I have some chapters already planned but, of course, even if it's summer I still have to study... Anyway, hope that you enjoyed seeing Younghyun in his daily office life! And, yes, it's kind of a slow fic... so bear with me it. Bye!


	4. Meeting again at Pandora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae goes through his first day in Pandora and meets mister Foxy-eyes again.

"Hyung, I'm quite sure that my tie is perfectly on its place."

"Just let me look at it again."

"For the _28th time_?"

Jae put his hands down, embarrassed under Wonpil's raised eyebrow and amused tone. It was early in the morning, so much that not even the Sun had dared to come up yet. But it would, soon. However, people had to go to work. And by people I refer to Kim Wonpil, who was grabbing his briefcase and looked again at the now-blonde guy who he called his best friend or something like that.

Because yes, Wonpil had found out after coming back home that his best friend and... housemate? had changed his hair colour. And cut his bangs. Honestly, Wonpil had been grateful for that, since Jae was wearing some messy hair already and he didn't want to be rude and ask him to fix it a little bit. Wonpil was surprised when he came back and saw his hyung wearing a blue pyjama, blonde short hair on the head and some bangs covering his forehead. And watching some drama, totally invested in it. Wonpil had found that cute but didn't say it. _No way_ he would say it.

"Hyung, you will do great, trust me." Wonpil didn't know all the details, only that his friend might get a new job. Sometimes the brunette wondered how lucky Jae was sometimes. Only sometimes. Maybe it was life trying to be good for once instead of bad to the blonde man. The older stared at his friend in silence. "You just have to be you."

"Maybe that's the problem", he snapped back. Then he sighed. "I'm sorry, Pil. I'm just nervous and stressed about it. I haven't done too much these past two months, you know." Wonpil nodded, understanding what he meant. "But, yeah... I'll just try to do my best at it. If I get the job, I might be able to move out soon."

"I told you that it was and is my pleasure to have you here. This penthouse feels too big sometimes." _And too alone for me_ , he wanted to add. Wonpil looked at his watch. "I have to go now or I'll be late, and I can't be late. It would be the worst role model to my workers", the younger one joked. Jae smiled. 

"Have fun today."

Wonpil rolled his eyes. What could be the fun in reading papers and discussing in a calm tone with old assholes who thought too highly of themselves just because they had enough money to buy stupid and useless things, in the young man's opinion. At least, as far as he knew, he would be able to take some time after work and visit Pandora. The thought made him smiled, excited. And Jae did notice that smile, but decided not to ask about it for now. After all, he respected his friend's privacy, even if he was quite nosy. _But only because I feel like protecting him all the time, yeap._

Jae watched Wonpil leave the house and sighed. It was too early to go to Pandora. The owner ( _Park Ddungjin? Mungjin? Sungjin! That was his name_ ) had told him to go at eight. And it wasn't even six. He couldn't sleep thanks to the job offer and, well, his insomnia. But he was used to having sleep problems, like his therapist in the USA had called them. Jae prefered to call them 'nightmares which don't let me rest and make me feel scared of falling asleep most nights, if not all', but it was too long for a name, so he shortened it by 'insomnia'. Much more practical and easier to explain to the therapist. Well, ex-therapist. He had to find a new one now in Seoul, after all. The previous one had given him his number and wanted to be updated because he cared for the blonde man, and Jae appreciated that.

Anyway, Jae decided to tidy up his temporal room only to pass some time before going out. He could more or less remember the way to Pandora, which would take like thirty minutes more or less by feet. Not too much, Jae was used to walking longer distances... like the whole Los Angeles. He smiled bitterly at the thought... or memory... and continued with his task. He watched the sunrise from the window in the room, mesmerized at the experience as if it wasn't his usual cup of tea. There was something magical for Jaehyung in the whole sunrise/sunset matter: the Sun disappearing, changing its place with the Moon and the other way around, never bound to meet each other (unless it was an eclipse), always seen as the two sides of the same coin for humans. 

It was weird how people had decided to work under the Sun, which could literally burn every human in the world, instead of doing their matters under the moonlight. And it was interesting, too, how people will always get emotional at night, when the darkness takes over each of our souls and we just stare at the ceiling, deep in thought, many words and images in our minds and many silent screams in our chests and throats. Jae shook his head. _Stop being philosophical, it doesn't help to hang these shirts in the wardrobe_. By the time he had finished, he noticed that he had only five minutes before the time he had decided to leave the penthouse, so he hurried up and got out more or less when he wanted. 

Always a punctual man, indeed.

At exactly eight o'clock the bell rang in Pandora. Sungjin lifted his head from behind the counter, slightly confused since he hadn't turned the signal to 'open'. Then he saw Jae and recognized the same man that had been interested in working the day before. He had changed his looks, yes, but Sungjin could see the same sadness in those eyes, the same tall figure which was slightly stooped over on account of difficulties and, well, the same face, come on. He was not _so_ blind. Although he might see deeper than anyone else sometimes, it was part of his personality... Or something like that. Sungjin stared at the man ( _was it Park?_ ) with a serious look.

"Good morning, Mister Park."

"Good morning too." Jae smiled at his maybe-soon-to-be boss, nervous. He couldn't read Sungjin's expression as easily as Wonpil's. The other one may have noticed that because he softened his expression.

"I see that you are a punctual man. I like that. Anyway, come here, I'll teach some basic things. If you pass today, maybe I will let you stay." _More like I probably late you stay because since I fired the last waiter, I'm short in personal sometimes_ , thought the owner of Pandora. But, of course, he wouldn't explain all that to a stranger. More if the stranger looked as naive as this man looked. "Excuse me, may I ask your age?"

"I was born in 1992."

"You were _what_?" Sungjin opened his eyes, surprised. He thought that he was in front of a college student, someone not any older than twenty-two. And there he had a man in his late twenties? Jae chuckled.

"I am twenty-eight... How old are you, new boss?" 

"Twenty-seven. And don't call me 'new boss' until you have the job." Jae nodded. His maybe-new-boss was right, after all.

For almost an hour Jae learnt how to serve the food to the customers, how to deal with annoying clients and some tips for getting the doughnuts without dropping them. Because that was really important, or so had said his boss. The other Park also taught him how to make at least three different types of coffee. _If you were to need any other type, just ask me, Sana or Jisung... but these are the most typical ones_ , were Sungjin's words. The boss had to repeat them since Jae wasn't so used to his Busan dialect. _So he's a foreigner._

When the first customer arrived, Jae went with a bright smile to receive them. Sungjin monitored Jae during the whole process of preparing and giving the customer's order, and also the moment of paying and all (however, he was usually the one in the cash register, so he only taught the American just in case). He was satisfied with his new worker: Jae spoke naturally with the stranger, a woman in her late thirties and visibly stressed, and was able to deal with the pressure of his first order, which included a doughnut and a cappuccino. And all with an angelical smile, or so was described by the woman when she approached Sungjin to pay. Sungjin wanted to snort, but behaved like a serious adult and wished her a nice day.

As hours passed, Jae became more used to everything that he had to do and even joked with his coworkers. He liked Sana's wittiness. Also, he found Jisung extremely adorable, maybe because he was still young and all. Jisung had gasped when he asked Jae's his age and he had to laugh at his astonished expression. He was used to being called young, although he felt quite old. Sometimes his joints cracked already and he sighed when standing up from a chair. And the worst of all: he couldn't understand young people anymore. Well, sometimes. Anyway, Sungjin let Jaehyung take a break of fifteen minutes, which he used to chat with Wonpil.

**Piri**

> _So? How's your day going?_

_mine's fine, yours? Went well in the interview?_

> _well my boss is making me work to see if I pass_

_oh??? You have to tell me what job it is lol_

> _maybe later, if I pass this strange exam_

_okay hyung_

_ah damn I have a meeting, BB just reminded me of it :(((( have fun during your break <3 _

> _you'll nail it <3 _

  
  


Jae sighed and heard the bell of the door ringing again. A new customer. Well, he was still on break, so he wouldn't take any order. However, he was curious about the client. As the morning went by, he had seen all types of customers: all genders, all ages, all ethnicities... Pandora was located in a nice place, after all. Jae admitted that his boss had been smart to choose a wise location with enough space to have several tables and still be able to have quite the privacy. And _puffs_. Never forget the puffs. Jae _loved_ those puffs. Speaking about the puffs, the new customer went straight to one of them and Jae moved a little only to take a peek on his face, because he was curious. That's it. 

Jae gasped.

The man was sitting on the puff and giving Sana the softest smile possible in the world, his eyes fixed on her with all his attention. He even seemed to joke with the waitress, who laughed with him. Jae noticed the closed briefcase on the floor, near his totally-expensive-looking shoes, which matched his expensive-looking suit... Jae recognized that style and those foxy eyes. That person was the same man who gave Jae directions to a hairdresser not even twenty fours hours before! Maybe he was a regular customer? Jaehyung wanted to hide because he felt embarrassed after being so awkward the day before. At least the man didn't look angry that day, which relieved him: he didn't want Sana to feel annoying or something.

Maybe he already cared a bit for his coworkers.

"Hey, Jaehyung." He turned towards Sungjin. Jae had asked Sungjin, even begged him, to call him Jaehyung and not mister Park anymore (and when I say Jaehyung, I mean Jaehyung-ssi). "It's Sana's time to take a break, could you hand the order to the customer?" He pointed towards the man of the suit. Jae gulped.

"Of course, boss." Sungjin rolled his eyes but let it be. He was going to sign a contract with Jae after all, although he didn't know how long the blonde would like to work there yet. Maybe he could ask him later when the morning was over. 

Jae grabbed the hot coffee and put it on a tray with a chocolate muffin. He smiled unconsciously because he also liked muffins and approached the other man. Maybe the foxy guy wouldn't recognize him with the blonde hair, the round glasses on (because the day before he had left them at home) and the bangs on the forehead. Maybe. He wasn't sure. But he was there to work, and he would obey any order his boss gave him, even if it meant receiving a stare from the unknown man. Jae avoided the dark-haired curious gaze and placed all on the small table in front of the puff.

"Are you new?" Jae turned and looked at the man. Had he talked to him? "I think I've never seen you here before." _Yes, he's talking to you, Jaehyung. Answer like a normal human being for once._

"Yes... It's my first day, though." The blonde smiled briefly, not really used to interacting with strangers yet. The other man nodded silently and kept staring at the waiter. _What is he staring at? Do I have cream on my face or what? Maybe he hates my glasses? I'm sorry they're fake, but I live for the aesthetic and to... hide myself._ "Is there something wrong...?"

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before." A chill went down Jae's spine. _Oh, well. Should I say something or just play around?_ "Have we met before?"

"Well, maybe. I don't remember the face of every person I've seen..." Jae tried to make his way out. "If you need anything else, just call me. I'm Jaehyung." 

And when he smiled, Younghyun's jaw almost dropped. He stared at the waiter's back when he left and watched him speak with Sungjin. _Jaehyung. First day_. Younghyun grabbed his muffin and looked at the cup of coffee while eating and thinking. _So Sungjin did fire that weird man. Well, it was for the best... He made some people here uncomfortable, and by people I mean women especially._ Younghyun wrinkled the nose when he remembered that man. _He's gone for the best. I believe that Jaehyung will be better._ Younghyun was quite curious about the blonde man: he seemed extremely young and had quite the accent as if he wasn't so used to speaking Korean, or he was more used to another language.

And he was sure that he had seen the blonde guy before, but where? Not in a meeting, he was sure about that. He tried to picture the man in different casual outfits, he even tried to imagine him without glasses. Finally, he started to change his hair colour and something clicked when he thought of Jaehyung with dark hair and without glasses. And the accent. He was reminded of the strange man he had met there, in Pandora, the very prior day. Could he be that man? It would make sense, but at the same time, it would be too much coincidence. He still had to check, only to keep his mind in peace.

"Excuse me, Jaehyung." He called the waiter when he passed by with an empty tray on his hands. The blonde man gazed at him, waiting for whatever the dark-haired wanted to ask for. "May I have another muffin?"

"Of course, I'll bring it right now."

Jae rushed towards the muffins, nervous. His heart was running faster than any horse, and just because he didn't want mister Foxy-eyes to recognize him. He was sure that the man could live on without knowing that he was the one who he laughed at, yeap. _Maybe I should try to find a job as a clown._ The blonde grabbed a big muffin (totally without thinking about giving this customer the biggest one, yeap) and went to the dark-haired foxy-eyes customer, who was looking at his phone with a soft smile. He seemed to be chatting. Jae waited until the other one noticed his existence. Finally, the man looked at him. Not that he was happy for that.

"Here you have your muffin, mister."

"Younghyun."

"What?"

"My name. My name is Younghyun." The other one smirked and Jae felt something weird going on. _He's not flirting with you, who would flirt with you?_ Jae clenched his fists unconsciously. He smiled at the customer.

However, Younghyun noticed that something was off with that smile.

"Okay, mister Younghyun. Do you need anything else right now?"

It was now or never, perhaps.

"Ah, yes... I do need something." There was the sweet smile again. _What does he need? Someone to listen to him? Or perhaps does he want my lungs to sell them to the black market? I don't know which option is worse._ "I was wondering how much your new hair colour cost."

Younghyun saw different emotions going through the blonde's face: confusion, realization, embarrassment, panic and, finally... nothing. A total neutral, poker face, unreadable. _Weird._ Maybe he had been wrong after all? Impossible, or the waiter wouldn't have reacted _so_ much. He waited patiently for the other one to answer. 

"You mean my blonde hair?" Jae touched his bangs, still with a neutral tone and face. "It was quite cheap. You may know the way to the hairdresser better than I do, sir." Jae shrugged the shoulders, apparently calm.

Internally, he was still panicking, but he had learnt how to act in front of people for more than two years. He was used to showing a neutral face when he wanted to scream his lungs out, when he had a knot in his throat and tears would be the perfect rival of the Niagara waterfall. The blonde knew how to keep things for himself and to act by logic, by thought, throwing his more than damaged heart away, hiding it from most people (even Wonpil, sometimes). 

"Then, I presume that I'm not wrong. Nice to see you again, Jaehyung." Younghyun sounded more pleased than the American expected. When he was about to answer, he heard a third voice.

"I don't pay you to chit chat with the customers, Jaehyung." Sungjin's words, even if they had been spoken in a calm tone, sounded like a whole warning. 

"If you excuse me, sir." Jae made a short bow and ran away from the Korean man in a suit to continue with his work, not noticing the piercing stare of the businessman on his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I updating all I can before I start to go to class again? I am.  
> Hope you liked the chapter! (and omg the EoD teasers,,, a story book??? bye)


	5. Look at me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonpil takes his time to go to Pandora and see the owner.

Something about the weather made Wonpil feel a little bit uneasy. Or maybe it was the uncertainty of what was going with Jae what made him feel like that. Or both.

The brunette glanced at the document he had been trying to read for ten minutes more or less. Five more minutes, and he could go. He always tried to put some limits to his working schedule or else he would be there all day: he went to work at 6:30 and got out at 19:30. Only took a break when he could. Nothing more, nothing less. He was always the last one to leave: his workers left at 18, Bambam left at 19 more or less. Wonpil always stayed the last one and finished whatever he had to do. Then, he usually loved to go back home, change his clothes and watch some random drama or variety show, eat something and go to sleep. 

However, he sometimes changed his plans and he drove to another place, a place named Pandora. He had discovered it one day by chance when he was looking for a coffee shop to go with his friend and worker Younghyun. And the brunette had been shocked after seeing who the owner was: not only because Wonpil thought that he was extremely handsome and because he loved his beautiful eyes, but also because he knew that man from some weeks before. He could never forget his face and voice, always curious about him and regretting not having stopped him that rainy day. 

Wonpil looked at his watch and smiled. It was time to go, finally. He tidied up as fast as possible and rushed down the stairs, not really wanting to get on the lift. Then he ran to the place where he had parked his car and got in it. He was excited, his heart was pounding hard from both the sudden race downstairs and the thought of seeing the man who lived free in his mind, always there. He couldn't help it and smiled all the way there. That day he was going alone, so he could be as true to himself as always. Well, at least he wouldn't be shy to interact with the other guy because his friend was in front of them. 

The familiar bell sound was heard on the shop some minutes after. Sungjin looked at the door, expecting a certain someone to come in. He had stared at the watch for some minutes, wondering if that man would come again. He always went on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, sometime after 19:30. Then he would stay until Sungjin closed the shop at 20:30, and even a little bit after. The Pandora owner found nice how the brunette would stay and help him clean up as if he didn't know that he was Kim Wonpil, the CEO of one of the most important companies in Seoul. He sometimes wondered why the CEO himself would just tidy up some random shop which didn't pertain to him, but he couldn't find the courage to ask for the reason and, besides, he did appreciate Wonpil's company.

"The same as always, mister Kim?" Wonpil relaxed after hearing his lovely, raspy voice. The brunette nodded and took his usual place, which was the nearest table to the counter, and Sungjin. If the older one had noticed that, he didn't show it anytime. In fact, Sungjin was hard to read to Wonpil, who was still trying to figure out the dark haired's character and personality. 

He was a whole mystery which Wonpil wanted to uncover.

"Here you have." His thoughts were interrupted by Sungjin. Wonpil had noticed that, while other customers were assisted by one of the afternoon shift's waiters, it had been always Sungjin the one who gave him his coffee (with a lot of milk and sugar) and his brownie. 

"Thank you." Wonpil stared at the man. "But I insist in you calling Wonpil for once. You're older than me."

"And you're my client and I'm at work. I must be respectful, mister CEO." Wonpil saw a spark of wittiness shine in the other one's eyes for a second, and then it was gone. Wonpil snorted.

"Don't call me that, come on. You know I hate it." The older man chuckled and took a seat in front of Wonpil.

It was quite the tradition between the two of them since two years before, when Sungjin noticed how much of a regular customer the other one was (and yes, it took him a whole year to do so): Wonpil would appear several times a week in Pandora, Sungjin would give him his order and then listen to whatever the brunette wanted to say. He found interesting everything that the younger said, especially because he could see how different was their way of looking at the world. He always felt like he could _learn_ from the younger, or maybe it was just an excuse to spend time with him because he wasn't so sure of asking him out someday to go somewhere like friends. _Because I believe that we're friends_.

"Well, how was your day?" The owner of the shop asked. His workers of the afternoon, Ryujin and Seungmin, could deal with the little to no client in the shop. It was quite late, and in less than an hour they would close already. Therefore, Sungjin could spend his time listening to the ~~cute~~ guy in front of him.

"Don't ask about it." Wonpil sighed and tried to take off his tie. He hated to use that dumb thing only because it was more 'formal'. _Screw formalities, I want to take it off... Did Jae hyung tied a knot for a pirate ship or what?_

While struggling, Wonpil saw a pair of hands approaching. When he looked up, he saw Sungjin's face only some centimetres away, too close for his _sanity_. He gasped briefly and noticed Sungjin's lips almost drawing a smile while taking off Wonpil's tie. Then the owner looked at him straight to the eyes and Wonpil got lost in those dark pupils, which shone more than the stars to him and were the guardians of numerous mysterious thoughts he would love and was willing to discover, if the other one let him. 

"T-thank you." Wonpil stuttered, nervously. Sungjin got back to his seat after giving Wonpil his tie and smiled at the younger. Wonpil felt his cheeks hotter, but tried to act natural. "My friend tied it..."

"He did a good job." Sungjin tried to calm the other one down. _Friend?_ "Friend...? Oh! Right, the American one?" Because yes, Wonpil had also spoken to Sungjin about Jae, more or less. The younger nodded and nibbled on his brownie. _Cut- no, stop_. "What was his name again?"

"Jae. He doesn't really use his Korean name, although he might use it more now... Anyway, he was nervous today, since he had a job interview today. His new boss made him work. Practical guy, I guess..." Something about that sounded familiar to Sungjin. "What about you? Something new today? I see that the Pandora hasn't exploded yet."

"I'm still worried that Jisung might burn something down, but it's fine for now." The dark-haired joked and listened attentively the other's one laugh. He loved to make his friend laugh, yeap. He found the sound extremely _lovely_. "Anyway, I finally got a new worker. He will be here in the morning, although sometimes he will work in the afternoon too if I need him to be here. He said it was okay, so..." Sungjin shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh? Right, you fired that weird guy." Wonpil shivered while remembering the prior waiter.

It had been extremely uncomfortable to talk with that person. The (now fired) waiter usually made spicy jokes and hurtful and sexual remarks to every woman which went for some coffee, and to some people who weren't woman too. For example, Wonpil had been a victim of his remarks and the waiter had tried to get his phone number. Wonpil always dismissed him and ignored him, but one day it became too much because the other one literally sat next to him and grabbed the brunette's wrist. Wonpil was about to show him how nice the judo classes had been when the other one had been practically thrown away. 

Sungjin had been there and got the other out of his shop. It had been the only time in three years when Wonpil had seen the owner of Pandora so angry, clenching his teeth and fists. Then the dark-haired had turned around and had asked Wonpil if he was okay with the most worried expression in the world, and Wonpil had sighed a _yes_. He felt bad for Sungjin during that time, because he didn't know what his worker did when the boss was busy with other customers or went to get something from the backroom. It had been about two weeks since then.

"Yes... I'm still mad because I didn't fire him before." Sungjin remembered when he got back from the room and saw the waiter too close to Wonpil, who looked like an innocent dear about to be devoured. Maybe he had been too angry. "I'm still ashamed, too, because I didn't want to look so angry." He scratched his nape. 

"Don't worry, it was great to see a new side from you." The brunette smiled sincerely. _And it was kinda hot too, you big guy... A softie_. "So? How's the new guy?"

"He's actually smart and learnt everything quickly. He's been called the 'one with the angelical smile' by some clients, too." Wonpil was curious about the guy, so he asked the name. "Oh, Park Jaehyung."

Wonpil choked with the brownie and tried to breathe. It couldn't be, right? Out of all the possible scenarios in the world, out of the possible jobs out there, his hyung couldn't be working for his crush, right? Life couldn't be so twisted, right? He wasn't so unfortunate right? _Right? Please tell me I'm right_. Oh, god. While the brunette's mind ran crazy, Sungjin tried to help him breathe and rushed to give his favourite customer a glass of water. Wonpil gobbled it down (and maybe Sungjin stared at the younger's Adam's apple while it, but it was normal, yeap). 

"Are you okay?"

"Please, please... Tell me that your new worker isn't a blonde man who is more or less six feet tall, quite thin, uses glasses for aesthetic, has an American accent, likes to joke around but his smile is really sweet and, well, he's quite shy and introvert too." Sungjin opened his eyes more and more as Wonpil listed more features.

"I may have to tell you that you just described him. Do you know him?" Wonpil groaned with his eyes closed. Sungjin reproduced in his head the younger one's words and gasped. "Wait, you said American... Is he...?"

"My friend? Yes. My friend is Park Jaehyung, also known as Jae... A blonde who was dark-haired and got a job today and... Oh, gosh..." 

While Wonpil was panicking for no reason, Sungjin found the other one's expressions and reactions both funny and confusing. Funny, because the older one loved to see Wonpil being himself and found him cute (not that he would admit it, well, only sometimes). Confusing, because the CEO should be glad that his friend got a job and, well, that he even knows the boss! Was Wonpil concerned for Jae? Maybe he thought that Sungjin was hard as a boss? Sungjin tilted his head, a little bit annoyed at the thought. However, he wasn't the type of person who jumped to conclusions, so he decided to ask the younger one, who was devouring his brownie.

"May I ask what makes you react like that, mister Kim?" He asked with the softest tone possible. He didn't know if he was crossing any possible boundaries between them two. _What are the limits, though_. Wonpil shooked his head. "Then?"

"It just surprised me." _My luck has failed me for once, it can't be happening this to me... I can never come again when Jae is here or he will tease me to death._ "The world is really small, huh?" The brunette chuckled, nervously. He could see on his crush's face that he hadn't bought his lie nor apparently-calm-act.

"You can tell me whatever you want, mister Kim. Whatever concerns you, I'm also worried because we're friends."

Both men remained silent, each with his own thoughts, after Sungjin's words left his mouth.

On the one hand, Sungjin was wondering if he had crossed the imaginary boundary. Maybe mister Kim didn't want to tell him nor talk about it with him, which was fine. Each person has their right to keep secrets and issues in private, and Sungjin, even if curious, would respect that. Also, maybe the brunette didn't consider them like friends, maybe he was just the owner of Wonpil's favourite coffee shop and the guy who listened to him for free just because why not. Maybe he overdid it.

On the other hand, Wonpil was having different thoughts. He was surprised and glad to discover that Sungjin considered them as friends, which meant that the other one considered them quite close. At least closer than a boss-customer relationship. And that made his heart bounce and pound and race and flutter. However, it broke when he realized that he was just a friend for Sungjin. Gosh, he _wished_ to be _more_ for the owner of Pandora. He _wished_ to be _more_ than just a _friend_. But he had to be careful: he didn't know if Sungjin liked men, after all. Maybe he would end up with a broken heart after all. And, well, he also had to think how to make the other one fall for him carefully: he cherished those moments together and wouldn't want them to drift away because he was too anxious and, well, fucked up.

"Mister Ki-"

"I'm concerned." Wonpil interrupted him. Sungjin raised an eyebrow and waited for the one to continue. "Jae hyung is still new to the city, so I'm concerned whether he will adapt well or not. I don't doubt that you're a good boss, but I don't know if he will do a good job when he has quite the problem handling strangers. I still have faith in him and know that he will pull it off, but I'm worried that it might stress him too much when, well, he's... eh... still getting treatment for something that I can't tell you, not without his permission." Sungjin nodded. _Makes sense._ He was opening the mouth, but then Wonpil lifted a hand to stop him and added, "I also have another concern."

"About what?"

"It may sound childish, but..." Wonpil's cheeks became redder and Sungjin wanted to smile _too_ much. "I do cherish these friendly moments, you know. Like, I feel at ease with you and love speaking with you without no one I know looking at me... I don't know if I make any sense at all, but I'm worried that, if Jae takes afternoon shifts, he'll tease me about this, just because I always tell him that I prefer to go home after work and here I am making friends." The brunette took a sip of his coffee, nervous after his speech.

Sungjin, on the other hand, felt a strange thing on his chest. It had been years since he had had that fluttering feeling. _So he would get teased... Does he act in a certain way with me? The true one, or a fake act? Why am I so curious? Or maybe I've always been since the first day he stepped in my shop..._ The dark-haired blinked and smiled when he saw the other one almost dropping his cup.

"Be careful, it is still a little bit hot." His tone, again, was sweet. It was easy to speak with an easy-going, sweet, soft tone to Wonpil for some reason. "He won't take too many afternoon shifts. Besides, we are not doing something wrong... We just talk with each other, enjoying our time together, right? Also... Don't worry about the other people, mister Kim. When I'm with you, I only look at you just how you are. Don't you want that?"

"Yes. Look at me." They both stared at each other. "I f-find annoying when the person I'm with just distracts themself with other things..." the brunette added in an attempt to fix it. Sungjin nodded, grinning. The other one made his heart skip a beat for a second. _Weird_. But he didn't hate it, not too much.

Only that he was still trying to decipher how Wonpil's mind worked. Like, he was this cute guy in front of him, yes. However, each time the CEO went to Pandora with his friend, the one who resembled a cat with those eyes and feline movements (or so it seemed to Sungjin)... Wonpil was different. He was more distant, a little bit colder. He didn't even glance towards Sungjin, not even once. Gosh, the dark-haired felt like a wall or an abandoned statue when Wonpil was like that. A flower pot. Therefore, he was confused: which one was the real Wonpil? What was going on? Maybe both were Wonpil? _He said that Jaehyung would tease him... Maybe his friend would tease him too, but, for what? Sounds iffy to me_. 

"Boss." The owner's gaze turned towards Seungmin. He was another college student, like Jisung. For some reason, they preferred to have separate shifts although they seemed to know each other. "It's almost time to close... Do you wish us to help you?"

"Nope, I'm good. It won't be too much work, go home and relax, Seungminie." The younger one nodded and glanced shyly towards Wonpil. The CEO smiled at the cute boy. He reminded him of himself. Sungjin raised one of his eyebrows, confused at what was going on. Seungmin made a short bow and almost ran away. 

Wonpil chuckled. "You were giving him a really hard stare. He's just a child."

"I was thinking about why he was staring at you so much."

"Are you jealous or what?" The CEO joked and then finished his coffee. "Come on, let me help you to tidy up as always."

_Jealous?_ The word rang in Sungjin's mind. _Why would I be jealous? I am the one who gets your stares, not him... Right? What the hell am I thinking?_

"Are you coming or what?"

"Are you really ordering the boss of the place?" And he smiled at Wonpil's laugh, again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you won't forget that this is also a Sungpil story! 
> 
> btw, tomorrow Even of the Day mv comes out... I'm so excited uwu


	6. You know each other?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Younghyun and Wonpil go to Pandora together.

"Please, Diane. Take this again and fix it."

Younghyun watched the woman go back to her place. She looked annoyed and the man couldn't blame her for it: it was almost break time and Younghyun had sent twice the same document back for a correction because it sounded weird for a native Korean. Maybe he was being too strict with it, but he was in charge of an important deal right now (one of many) and he didn't want to make a mistake. Any error he made would have consequences on the company, on his workers and, well, on himself. And he was quite satisfied with his life and position to just _fuck it all up_ (maybe he was being dramatic, but mister perfect was like that). And it didn't help at all that he was nervous for another thing. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say _another person_. 

Because Younghyun had been thinking about the blonde employee in Pandora since he had seen him the day before. He had hated Sungjin for interrupting their conversation when he finally got Jaehyung to admit that they knew each other. Perhaps the Global Connection Section boss wanted to thank the blonde man for making his day the previous Monday with that random question, nothing more. He didn't have any ulterior motive nor reason to be staring at the clock, waiting impatiently for the break time to come and permit him to just run off that building and get some nice coffee in a calm place as Pandora. If he got to see the blonde American guy, better for him, maybe. 

He stood up from his place after he dismissed the alarm he had to notify him of the break time. He was smiling until he noticed a new message on his notifications. As always, he had quite ignored the phone. He could hardly remember the 'ping' of a new message sound about an hour before, when he was trying to get some meeting with the Lee company through the office telephone. Gosh, it had been hard but he _made_ it: he would get the meeting happening about two weeks later, when the son from Lee would travel to Korea. It was perhaps too much time, but Younghyun had learnt to be patient in life and chase slowly after a prey until there was _no way it could escape_. Quite the metaphor he had for himself, huh. 

Anyway, Younghyun read the message and sighed.

**Kim Pil**

_U must wait for me, Im going to pandora today_

Out of all the days in the world, Wonpil decided to go that day at that hour with Younghyun.

**Kim Pil**

> _thought u were busy?_

_i have to go and see someone there lol_

_Of course, he_ has _to see Sungjin_ , were the dark-haired's thoughts.

**Kim Pil**

> _okay_
> 
> _wait for u near ur car_

_sure <3 _

Younghyun smiled at the heart. Wonpil was lovely. The dark-haired could totally see himself falling for his friend if, well, he was actually interested in getting into a relationship with someone. He was far from wanting to feel any love, was it towards men, women or whoever caught his eyes. That didn't mean that he wouldn't go out sometimes and find someone to hook up with for the night, forgetting who they were the very next day and leaving, perhaps, a broken heart or broken illusion behind. He always said his intentions to their one-night partners, if the other one's created a whole movie from it it wasn't exactly _his fault_. He was honest.

Younghyun waited until Wonpil came down. He noticed how the other wasn't wearing his usual tie (not that the brunette always wore the same one, but he always wore a tie and it was weird that he wasn't at all...?). He found it strange, but he had to admit that _that_ Wonpil with the first button unbuttoned was quite _hot_. Hotter than the usually cute guy. Younghyun smirked at the sight (he wasn't blind at all) and whistled once Wonpil was close enough. He saw the brunette running a hand through his hair, embarrassed, and laughed too loud.

"What was the whistle for?" The CEO got into his car quickly and waited until the other one hopped inside.

"You look hot today and I had to let you know." Wonpil chuckled. Younghyun was too honest sometimes and he knew, _he knew_ , that if it wasn't because Younghyun didn't like relationships and he was too head over heels for a certain coffee shop owner...

  
  


Maybe they would have fucked long ago. 

  
  


Wonpil wasn't blind either. He could see how sexy Younghyun was, especially when he was into Boss Kang mode. Perhaps Wonpil liked that: someone who would have control for once, who would boss him a little bit around and try to understand him, instead of being him the one to give orders for once. But enough of Wonpil's ideal partner, we are talking about Younghyun mainly right now.

Anyway, Younghyun turned on the radio even if he knew that it would be a short trip. They could have gone walking, but both guys were eager to arrive as soon as possible (perhaps for different reasons... or no) and the car was faster than their feet. And it had music. Younghyun soon found himself jamming to some random song from one of his favourite singers: Sunmi. He _loved_ all the songs that this singer had released since the beginning of her career and he was 100% that she was a _goddess_. 

And maybe he had met her once thanks to Wonpil and his friends, but let's leave his fanboy life aside and focus on the bell sound of Pandora.

Inside, the workers immediately turned towards the door. Jisung continued with the client he was attending to, Sana was focused on making some cappuccino or whatever... And Sungjin was near the door, saying bye to some customer with a polite smile. His face lit up a bit when he saw Wonpil, although immediately went serious in less than a second when he also saw his companion. _So he came with his friend. Prepare yourself, Sungjin._ He repressed a sigh and watched them grab a seat. The usual seat of Wonpil, only that he had someone with him this time. _He has come other times with him... They must be good friends._

Wonpil could feel Sungjin's stare and he loved it, even if he was giggling nervously in front of his friend due to it. He wasn't sure _why_ , but he suddenly liked that he hadn't worn a tie all day long just because he forgot about it at home and Jae was asleep. Talking about Jae, the brunette saw his friend coming back from the back store. He watched, amused, how the American's eyes grew as wide as possible when he noticed both him and his companion. Especially him, of course. Jae groaned and approached them with a polite smile which made Wonpil laugh too much. On the other hand, Younghyun was confused by the other one's reaction until he suddenly saw the blonde man next to them, standing there, ready to take their order.

"Good morning, welcome to Pandora. My name is Jaehyung and I will be the one who brings you your order today. May I ask what it might be?" The American used a totally polite tone. Wonpil chuckled and Jae glared at him. _Hard_. "Shut up and tell me what you want."

"This isn't how you should treat your customers, hyung!" The brunette teased him. Jae sighed. Younghyun gazed from one to the other.

"Wait, you know each other?"

"We do _more_ than know each other, Hyunie hyung." Wonpil replied mysteriously. 

Then, when he was about to order, Sungjin appeared magically with his usual order. Silently, he left it on the table and went back to his usual spot, supervising all his workers and, well, being the boss he was. And counting money, too, when he had some free moment. Wonpil's eyes fixed on the owner's back and he sighed, sad because he wouldn't talk to him that day. At all. _Perhaps I should have come alone... But I wanted Younghyun to meet Jae, too._

That sigh, by the way, hadn't been ignored by the blonde American, who smirked imagining what could be the reason. After all, Jae himself admitted that Sungjin was handsome and that his eyes were extremely attractive. And he could see that the owner was his friend's style, even if he didn't know exactly which style he liked. But that issue could wait. He now wanted to know another thing.

"So I tell you where I work and you immediately come to play with me, Wonpillie?"

After all, Wonpil had listened to Jae bragging about getting a job after he got home really late at night. The older one told the brunette how impressed his boss had been (gaining a proud stare of Wonpil) and how they had decided that he would work from 9 to 14 each day, including Saturdays. Also, since Jae was still new and that wasn't his profession, they had decided to make an open-end, like, no fixed date for its end. After all, Jae could totally find a job as a translator at any moment and, well, Sungjin could handle some more time without an extra worker if needed. His boss was _so understanding and handsome, Wonpil, you have no idea_. 

However, now Jae sensed that maybe Wonpil knew his boss too well.

"Not at all, hyung. Here Younghyun and I like to come and drink some coffee from time to time to Pandora. It was actually a surprise that you work here now."

"But you hate coffee."

Silence reigned before Wonpil nervously chuckled, looking for Sungjin and sighing in relief when he noticed that the dark-haired couldn't have heard that statement. He was _screwed_ if his excuse to go there just vanished like that. He was _done_. And he wanted to be _done_ in another way, by another person and in another scenario. 

Younghyun was still looking at the interaction between the two people in front of him. _What_. They seemed so close... Younghyun tried to think if Wonpil had ever pronounced the name of some guy named Jaehyung, but he couldn't recall it at all. _How do you know each other, guys?_ were the words which wanted to slip out of his mouth, but he resisted the urge of doing so and, instead, politely smiled and asked for his usual order. 

And Jae was gone after taking note of it.

"So?" The dark-haired met Wonpil's cheeky smile. His eyes had a spark which Younghyun knew well: he was thinking something. _Planning_ something. And that something had to do with _him_. The older one prepared himself, but the spark disappeared suddenly and the brunette changed his position, yawning. "If you have any question, ask me."

"What?"

"Don't act like an idiot when we both know that you aren't one, hyung. You're literally the most uncomfortable looking person in this coffee shop right now." Younghyun changed his position and tried to relax while the brunette cackled.

"I'm not uncomfortable." The Global Connection Section boss stated. He loosened his own necktie and tried to breathe under Wonpil's knowing stare. He felt analyzed and he hated it. "Stop staring."

"Can't help it if you look good." Wonpil joked and Younghyun smiled. "Totally would let you do whatever you want with me." The dark-haired chuckled after the brunette winked after his not-so-appropriate joke. 

"Here you have all. Call me if you need anything."

Jae quickly left everything on the table and ran away. He had heard the last words of Wonpil and felt like he was an intruder in something. Of course, Wonpil would go out with someone. Or have something with someone. He was a grown man and he had his... needs. However, the sudden tightness of his chest didn't disappear when he looked back at the couple and watched Younghyun smirk at the brunette. He wasn't annoyed for Wonpil nor worried for him. Not for _Wonpil_. _This doesn't make sense, Jae._ Jae shook his head and sighed. Then he felt a pat on his shoulder and turned his head right, only to see Sungjin staring at him with worried eyes.

"Are you feeling okay?" Something Jae liked of his boss was the tone he used always: even if sometimes it was hard due to the accent, the words were delivered in a deep, sometimes raspy voice which immediately calmed the blonde down (this effect was proved the day before when Sungjin several times cheered him up during work). 

Sungjin was the first guy he felt comfortable around after all the mess from months before, besides Wonpil and perhaps Younghyun. And his therapist in the USA.

Anyway, Jae nodded and felt Sungjin pat his shoulder once more, awkwardly trying to comfort him. Then he went around the shop, supervising everything. Jae kinda respected the man even if they knew each other for a day. It wasn't easy to be the boss of a place like a Pandora, where several customers came during the whole day, especially in the morning. That's why he was working there at that time. The American thought about not trying to find a job as a translator in Seoul and just keep working there since it was quite comfortable (and nerve-wracking for an introvert, yes). Jae smiled at the thought.

How bad could it be to stop being a translator...?

_A lot_ , answered his mind. _You live for this. We live for this._

Which was true.

Jae had been born in a Korean household which moved when he was little to Los Angeles, USA. He had been taught both English and Korean while growing up and he has found nothing more fascinating and intriguing than the differences between both languages and how easily he could jump from one to another. He had fallen in love with interpretation when he was still as young as a one-digit age and he had to help his family from Korean when they visited (not that they did it often and not that Jae actually liked those aunts and uncles who felt more like strangers to him but doing this activity made him happy, yeap). 

Later on, he became a well-known professional translator and interpreter not only in his state but in others too. He would receive several offers from different companies and made many friends who respected him.

And he also met his worst _nightmare_.

Jae gripped his shirt unconsciously, tormented by sudden thoughts and memories. He tried to breathe deeply, alone. _In... Out... In... Out... Good boy, you can do this._ He closed his eyes and continued to be there, standing, concentrated on his breathing exercise and trying to keep his mind away from those evil voices in his head. He could feel his hands slightly shaking while he tried to remember what his therapist had to tell him to do if he fell into a state like the one he was suffering at that moment. Slowly, he opened his eyes and almost screamed.

"Are you okay?" Younghyun's worried eyes were inches away from his face as the suited man had leaned forward to the blonde, a hand stopped in the middle of the air. 

_Was he going to touch me? I don't want that. No man touching me, please._

"M-move away. Don't touch me." The blonde took a step back. The other man looked at him with concern and, finally, a not-too-much-awkward smile appeared on his face.

"I won't. I promise." Younghyun raised both hands in an attempt of looking like a nice guy. "I only came to pay... My break time is ending soon, Jaehyung, and I have to go back to the company..."

"O-oh... Let me call Sungjin then. I still have some problem with the cashier." The dark-haired gifted him a smile and Jae felt something weird.

"Okay, I can wait for you to come back." 

And it was then when Jae knew that somehow, deep inside, maybe he was starting to be _doomed_ again. However, it was his unconscious side who knew it, and he would fight against it for a long, long time. Meanwhile, his body created more distance between the Korean and him, perhaps to keep its owner safe again.

  
  


Younghyun stayed still until he could pay to the boss, still concerned for Jaehyung. He had tried to get some information from Wonpil ( _Where is he from? How do you know him?_ ), but the other one had only joked about his interest in Jaehyung. _Our Hyunie hyung has been shot by Cupid's arrow perhaps?_. That had annoyed Younghyun and Wonpil had immediately apologized.

He knew how much Younghyun despised relationships since his last year before graduating from the university because the older one had told him during a night when they were both extremely drunk and emotional. And the brunette had promised to keep it a secret and never say anything about it since it was a personal matter which affected Younghyun _way too much_. Younghyun wasn't the type of person to randomly open up to people, so Wonpil had felt truly honoured to hear about that part of his hyung's past. It made it easier to _understand_ him.

Anyway, the dark-haired Korean was worried about Jaehyung. He had seen the man closing his eyes, tensed and trying to recover a normal breath. He had approached as fast as he could, something inside him telling him that he couldn't leave the American like that, he couldn't ignore that guy he met two days before suffering, as if he wasn't a jerk who didn't meddle in stranger's business. Something in the blonde American made him move towards him.

And he didn't like that feeling, but, at the same time, he was too curious and he wanted to know more and more about Jaehyung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just adding notes to clarify that, yes, Younghyun doesn't know that Jae and Jaehyung are the same human being...
> 
> ... and, also, that "Where the sea sleeps" is wonderful and the mv is -------------


	7. What do you mean Dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae goes shopping and meets someone new.

"Do I look like your personal errand boy?"

Wonpil ignored Jae's pout while he tied his shoes. Well, his running shoes. He was going for a run in the park and then some hours in the gym, where he took judo classes. Since he became a CEO (and even before that) he had been taking those classes for the sake of his life, just because there were crazy people out there: potential enemies from other companies, people who hated rich people, people who wanted the CEO to marry them to get some money and power, people who were just lost in life and wanted to hurt others...

Whatever the reason, his mother had signed him up to those classes on Saturday and he did have to go or the madame would be notified. And the brunette hated when her mother just called to nag about everything which went _wrong_ in his son's life, starting with his lack of a _wife_.

And it wasn't like the brunette hadn't already told her that he only liked boys, but her mother insisted in his son being bisexual. Award for the best mother of the year, the decade and the century, of course. 

"Wonpil-"

"I heard you the first time you said that, no need for a sixth one," the younger one replied and got up from the chair. He went to the kitchen and felt Jae sighing behind him, so he turned around. "You see, someone has to go and buy stuff or we won't have food to eat."

"We can always call for delivery", the blonde suggested. Wonpil stood silent. "Okay, stop glaring at me like that. Can't you just call someone else?"

"Are you busy or what? Thought you were a _loner_."

Jae shut up after that. Well, yes, he didn't have any plans: Sungjin had messaged him to tell him that the shop was closing that morning because he had to go somewhere and, although he would open during the afternoon, Jaw wasn't needed then. Therefore, the blonde found himself without nothing to do and decided to, perhaps, have some fun that day.

But going shopping with a list as long as the Nilo river wasn't exactly his idea of _fun_. 

"Okay. You caught me there. Just give me the damned list." Wonpil handed the paper with a smile and also gave him some bags.

"You will need them, believe me." The blonde watched the brunette grab a sports bag and smile at him.

Minutes later Jaehyung found himself in the middle of the concrete jungle which received the name of Seoul. He almost shut his eyes due to the sunlight ( _it's the end of November? Why is the Sun so bright?_ ) and trembled inside his warm coat, a present from Wonpil. It was quite short for him, but the brunette didn't have anything better for his hyung. At least it was warm.

And perhaps the American should go shopping and buy himself some clothes, but first the food. Food is necessary to live, after all. And hunger is one of the worst experiences in life, or so thought Jae. _Sweet, sweet horrible past experience, yes, your personal teacher. Nothing better in life_. Sometimes he wondered if his sarcasm had always been so _mean_ to himself or if it was a result of the last years of his life.

Anyway, thanks to some mystic energy (also known as Google Maps), he found his way through the bustling city and got into the nearest supermarket. And by nearest, I mean one which was quite _a few blocks away_. The blonde asked himself again why he had accepted the younger one's demand on a beautiful Saturday morning.

Ah, yes, the ghosts from the past. Yeap.

"Do we really need milk?" His nose shrugged while looking again at the long list of stuff to buy. "Since when do we eat so much? Bread? Bacon? Kimchi? We can make kimch- oh, yeap, here are the ingredients for it too. I wonder if mister CEO wants the whole supermarket for himself, then."

He continued mumbling nonsense under his breath for some minutes while going through too many corridors. It was worse than that time he got lost in IKEA... being it the _third_ time he had gone to that place and having to call someone to help him _get out_. Perhaps Jae's sense of direction wasn't the sharpest sometimes. Like most times. Like always. 

Just like that moment.

"Wait, I know I saw the milk section somewhere here... Certainly not with the bleach."

He sighed and leaned against a wall, staring at the shopping cart in front of him, full of many objects. He wondered if he had enough money to pay for all. A _h, right, Wonpil left me his card. Man, I wonder how being so rich feels, really. Just swipe a card and boom! You have provisions for your whole life. Damn the rich people, share some money_. 

Then he heard a _crash_.

He blinked several times until he noticed that something had hit his shopping cart. More like someone. _Is that a... dwarf?_ Jaehyung stared for five whole seconds at the child on the ground, which was touching his forehead. He looked as he was about to cry, so the American knelt beside him with a soft smile.

"You're okay, right, buddy?" He patted the child's head. "Come on, stand up with me, we don't want your clothes getting all dirty."

If there was something that Jae had learnt those times when he had to babysit an ex-friend's child, it was that children won't cry unless someone panics around them. If they are encouraged to think that it isn't a big deal, then it won't be a big deal. _Most of the times_. Jaehyung could still see the pain flashing through the child's eyes while a trembling hand took his.

The small body got up and Jaehyung tried to calculate how old the small one had to be. He didn't look any older than six or seven. However, the American hadn't had to deal with many children in the past, so it was difficult to try to guess this one's age. 

"So? You're okay?" The child nodded. Jae smiled while watching the dark, fluffy hair going up and down on the small one's forehead. "Then we're good. You should be careful."

"I..." _He looks so shy... Wait, is he crying again?_. The child started to sob. "I'm looking for daddy." 

Jae's heart ached.

"You lost him?" The child nodded while tears fell down his cheeks. Jae gave him a handkerchief. Maybe he should call the people responsible in the supermarket? "I should report this to-"

"No." The child grabbed Jae's leg, who was confused. _At least he seems to trust me a little._ "I just want to see daddy..." The child looked up at him. "Can't you help me, uncle?"

_Who the hell do you call uncle?_

"Okay, buddy. Give me your hand, we're gonna look for daddy, okay?" Jaehyung couldn't leave the child like that. He looked at his own shopping cart and sighed. _I'll have to deal with both things at the same time._

The child grabbed Jae's hand firmly. The blonde was surprised because the dark-haired stopped crying more or less. When he asked about his dad, the child answered with his eyes shining like stars, which reminded Jae from someone, but he didn't remember _who_.

"He's tall! He's shorter than uncle... Hm... Daddy has black hair like me. And round eyes. And he's handsome," the younger one added proudly. _You're so cute... eh..._

"Excuse me, little mister. I'm Jae, may I ask your name?" Jaehyung asked while they were going through the milk section. The child had said that he lost his daddy _s_ _omewhere near the milk, uncle... He told me that I had to drink milk to be tall, too. Did you drink a lot of milk?_ (and Jae had to nod, confused at the other one's accent). 

The child was quite smart, or so thought Jae because he would intelligently answer each question, with a correct pronunciation (only tarnished a bit by an accent which Jae, again, felt like he _knew_ ). 

"Oh, right. Uncle Jae, I'm Do-"

"Dowoon!"

The child's head snapped right and the body immediately ran away. _I guess that's my answer. And that must be daddy_. Jae watched the boy jump into a man's arms. The man was wearing a cap and held the boy tightly as if he was afraid of losing him again if he let him go. Jae could understand that feeling, somehow. 

The blonde approached the other two with his shopping cart. He wanted to make sure that Dowoon's dad didn't think ill of him, like if he was a kidnapper or something worse. He was only a lost soul in the middle of a supermarket with a cart, which, by the way, the child had bumped to. _Gosh, life is so difficult sometimes_. 

As he went closer, he got to listen part of their conversation.

"Woonie, I've told you several times not to get away from me!"

"I'm sorry, daddy... I thought of going to get my favourite biscuits."

"You could've told me before running away." The man with the cap sighed and closed his eyes for a second.

"Are you angry with me, daddy?" Jae's heart almost melted down thanks to the cute voice tone.

"No, Woonie. Daddy isn't angry with you, he was just worried." The man kissed the child's forehead, who giggled.

_I feel like an intruder here, gosh._

"Uhm... Excuse me, sir. I'm sorry for intruding like this, but I'm glad to know that your child is safe and... uhm... that we've managed to find his... daddy." Jae felt _extremely_ uncomfortable with the situation.

And his jaw dropped when he saw who 'Daddy' was.

"Jaehyung?" Sungjin opened his eyes as wide as possible. Jae's jaw was still underground. The owner of Pandora blinked several times. 

"Uncle Jae helped me find you, daddy! But..." Dowoon pushed his dad slightly. "Let me down, daddy."

Sungiin dropped him on the ground, confused and unsure of what his son wanted to do. The situation was even more confusing for the other adult man, who was just there staring at both humans in front of him, still processing the information. _So Sungjin has a_ CHILD _? He's a_ FATHER _?_ Both adults watched Dowoon go straight to the shopping cart and then...

Then he caressed it with a hand???

"I'm sorry for hurting you." Dowoon looked deeply worried for... the cart... being hurt... 

_That was too much for my heart._

"Oh my gosh, he's too cute for this world." Jae blurted out and Sungjin nodded while smiling like a proud father. Which he was, but _details_.

Dowoon went back to his father's arms and Jae cleared his throat, still confused. Sungjin also looked quite uncomfortable. The owner of Pandora stared at Jae's shopping cart, amused.

"Excuse me, Jaehyung... Are you going to feed a whole family?" 

"What? No! Gosh. It's Wonpil's stupid long shopping list fault." Jae sighed and checked his list. _I only need the milk and we're good to go_.

"Wonpil? You mean Kim Wonpil?"

"You know him? I mean, he went the other day to Pandora but..."

Sungjin didn't know what to answer. A part of him wanted to say yes, wanted to ask why Jaehyung was buying stuff for the CEO and wanted to make sure that the blonde man knew that Wonpil and he were, in fact, _friends_. However, there was that part of him which remembered Wonpil wanting to avoid Jae's teasing. And Jae didn't _know_ that Wonpil and he knew each other and were closer than an owner of a shop and a regular customer. 

Therefore, he just nodded, hoping that it wasn't a bad answer.

"Oh, that explains why you gave him the other day his order without even asking. He must be a regular at Pandora, right?" Sungjin nodded again. "Well, Wonpil is my best friend and I'm staying with him for some days... You know, messy life, just moved to Korea and blablabla". 

_They are staying together..._ , were the words which crossed Sungjin's mind. He had forgotten that, even if Wonpil had told him that information. It made him feel uneasy, but he didn't want to think too much about it. There was nothing wrong with Wonpil living with a handsome man who he was close to and all... Sungjin cleared his throat, gaining a stare from both Jae and Dowoon.

"Daddy? Are you sick?"

"No, Woonie. I'm okay." Sungjin could feel Jae's stare. When he looked at his worker, he read the question all over his face.

_You have a child?_

"By the way, Dowoonie. Have you presented yourself to uncle Jae?" 

"Ah! Right! Good manners." The child looked straight into Jae's eyes. "My name is Yoon Dowoon. I'm five years old and I love playing the drum even if I'm young! Nice to meet you." The child bowed slightly.

"Yoon...?" 

"He has his mother's surname. I... didn't want to change it." Sungjin's explanation only caused more confusion and he knew it. He sighed. "Listen, Jaehyung... I know this is sudden and all, but I kinda want to keep this... situation... as a secret for now. Right now, I can't explain the story and all... but some other day I will, okay?" Sungjin smiled briefly.

_Ah, a dark past. I feel you, bro._ "Of course, boss."

"Just call me Sungjin, without honorifics, outside work."

"Then just call me Jae hyung or Jaehyung hyung. You know, since I'm older." The American winked while speaking with a playful tone.

He was surprised when he heard Sungjin laughing. He seemed way more relaxed than he was at work. And Jae felt that they could become _friends_. That he could have some other friend in a new place. And the friend included a sweet child who was watching both adults, not really understanding what was going on but still smiling as if he was the happiest person in the world. 

Yeap, Jae could try to get out of his comfort zone and try to expand his friendship circle to include both people in front of him.

The first step for it was continuing the conversation. Both adults talked about not-really important matters while they kept an eye on Dowoon, who was watching around everything, but not really going too far away from his father. Maybe the child was afraid of getting lost again or maybe... _maybe he wants to make sure he_ is _with his father_ , Jae thought at some point when the child just kept observing his father paying, his eyes fixed on the Korean man.

After some minutes, Jae felt like his world was going to end after seeing the... bags... he had to carry... full of groceries... _haha_...

Yeap, Jae hated his life for a second before the determination to walk all the way back home with all came out of nowhere.

"Uh... Do you need any help?" Sungjin asked as he saw the struggle in Jae's life at the moment. 

"Dowoonie can help!" Dowoon grabbed a plastic bag with bananas. "See?"

"Woon, leave that inside the bag again," his father ordered. The child obeyed him. Sungjin looked back at the older one. "I have my car nearby, I can take you home."

"Is this your way of knowing where I live, Sungjin?"

Sungjin was left dumbfounded. Knowing Jae's address meant knowing Wonpil's address... Kim Wonpil's house. He hadn't thought, not even once, about where the CEO lived, whether if it was really far away from the coffee shop and all... Perhaps he was curious now, but he wasn't going to get it from Jae nor another third party. 

If he ever knew where Wonpil lived, it'd be because the brunette _actually_ told him. 

And maybe let him inside too.

"I was just joking, Sungjin," Jae scoffed at the other one's expression (or lack of expression, perhaps). "But I will take your offer, please." Sungjin nodded.

Minutes later, Jae found himself finally at home, with the song of the "Shark baby" in his head thanks to a really excited Dowoon singing.

***********************************

"Aren't you liking the views?"

Younghyun sipped from his tea. He continued to look at the sunrise, slowly the Sun throwing more and more light over the city. He felt the other person moving behind him and he smirked. 

"Yeah, they're pretty. But I'm not here to talk about the sunrise, am I?" He turned his head towards the man. 

The other one chuckled and approached him. He back hugged Younghyun and rested his head on one of the taller one's shoulders, also looking through the window. Younghyun snorted.

"Don't try to get clingy and let's get into business, shall we?"

"That's not what you said last night."

"Last night you couldn't even say _anything_. At least nothing which made sense." Younghyun raised an eyebrow. "Never thought that you would be the type of person who would welcome a businessman with alcohol in vein, Eric. At least I got a nice place to stay."

Eric Nam was one of those people which Younghyun trusted more or less in. And by more or less, I mean that Eric knew Younghyun since he was in college, as they both shared a room before the other one moved to the States to live and work as a singer. And yes, Eric left his studies to pursue a dream which did come true.

Although he was still interested in business-related matters, so he had started a company (a musical one), which was well-known in the United States and, well, world-wide. And he had quite the contract with CEO Kim's company, which made Younghyun travel there for a whole week.

From Thursday to Wednesday.

Whole seven days away, and all Younghyun could think about what was how much he craved for Pandora's coffee, Wonpil's friendship and, well, the waiter's smile. After all, he wanted to become the American's friend and was concerned for him.

"I had a fight with my new boyfriend, nothing to worry about... So, mister Kang, what's your offer now?"

Younghyun stopped smiling and got into the serious-boss-Kang mode. After all, a deal is a deal. And he had to make sure that it provided a huge benefit to the company.

He could spend time thinking about blonde tall guys later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fyi, I wrote this before my other fic... Idk why Dowoon is always a child and Sungjin's child but okay, I guess.
> 
> See you next time!


	8. Do you want to work for me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Younghyun wants to find an interpreter and tells Jae.

When Jae tried to remember the date, he suddenly realized that he had already been for one week in Korea. More like it had almost been two weeks since it was Friday and he arrived on Monday, right after Wonpil got out of work... Like he did from Monday to Sunday. He still found confusing why Wonpil would work on Sunday too ( _I only work sometimes, hyung_ ), but who was he to ask? If the CEO wanted to work on Sunday, he could.

Anyway, Jae crossed out the day on his personal calendar and looked at his new agenda. Wonpil had bought it for him some days before, arguing that his hyung could need it to note down whatever events were important or to keep track of his mood or whatever he wanted. And the blonde had actually given it that use: he would write down some things which caught his attention during the day and decide what he would do the next day.

For example, that Friday he had to (finally) find a new therapist to continue his treatment, even if he thought that he was _cured_. His last therapist had called the day before and asked him for his wellbeing and, well, if he had got an appointment for a new person in Seoul. When Jae said that he didn't, his ex therapist had sighed and said that _Jae, believe me... You're a strong boy and probably could function more or less, but you still need some help to become you again_. 

So there was the 'event', the 'must-do' of the day, surrounded by a lot of exclamation marks made with a highlighter. And yes, it was from a yellow colour which almost _hurt_ Jae's eyes.

However, that issue could wait, since the blonde had to get ready to work for some hours. He could spend his afternoon trying to call or visit or contact in any way some kind of therapist, or just be a totally normal person and call the one who his ex-therapist had recommended him of. _But that's for those who don't step out of their comfort zone, just like me- I mean, not me. Not me at all._ Minutes later, Jae was on his way to work.

"Good morning, Jaehyung," greeted him his boss as he stepped inside the coffee shop. Jae recalled how awkward the Monday had been, as both remembered that, eh, _uncomfortable_ moment in the supermarket. Sungjin hadn't explained anything yet, but Jae wasn't the type of person who pressures others.

After all, he knows that we all have secrets that we are cautious of revealing to others, and that time doesn't always heal all wounds. 

"Hey there, boss. Ready for another boring morning of work?" Jae's smiled after speaking with a playful tone. He could see Sungjin's lips giving the ghost of a smile. 

"Never was, never will. But work is work." The dark-haired yawned and he rubbed his eyes. Jae stopped walking towards the back store to grab his working 'uniform' (more like using some white shirt and the nametag) and stared at his boss with concern. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You look tired."

Sungjin felt _beyond_ tired. He had spent an awful night trying to get some sleep. However, he had too many worries in mind: first of all, Jisung called him late at night to notify him that he had got in some accident and couldn't work for a week or so (he was concerned for the boy, he saw his workers as his own children... _The father instinct again_ ); second of all, he was catching quite the cold and he didn't want to end up ill; third of all, Dowoon _had_ caught a cold.

And he had stayed all night trying to help the child with the fever, waking up every thirty minutes to check on him. Dowoon was his whole world, he couldn't see his universe shatter slowly into pieces nor being hurt, not until the child had grown _just a little more_ and had to learn about this cruel world. The owner of Pandora wanted to protect his son of everything, but also _knew_ that he would have to become independent as years went by.

And that made him a little bit _sad_.

Sungjin sighed. And that was all the answer Jae got for his question, but he wanted more. Therefore, the blonde decided to ask his boss later when his turn ended. The American wanted to help his new friend, whatever the issue taking away his sleep was. _Out of our comfort zone. Yes. Let's trust him for now._

Anyway, soon after that moment, Sana arrived and the shop was officially opened. Jae found himself busier than usual. It made sense since his boss had told them that Jisung couldn't go to work because he had an accident. Jae's heart ached a little: had the accident been so severe? Perhaps the blonde had more or less adopted Jisung because the younger treated him like a respectful older brother. 

The morning went by slowly for the American. When his break came, he looked at his phone, not sure what to do. Wonpil had remembered him that he would be busy because he was going to see his friend during a break, someone called Park Jinyoung. Jae had looked that person up on Google and his jaw almost dropped when he saw so many fansites and posts and too much information... because Wonpil was a friend of a _popular Korean actor_. Jae had whistled with admiration... and had gained a reprimand from Sungjin too.

Also, the American was, perhaps, kind of _bored_. He had become used to some customers and tried to more or less memorize during which part of the morning they would pay a visit to the coffee shop, only to receive them with his best smile and most polite manners. He could handle a certain number of strangers before wanting to run away, but these regular clients felt like acquaintances, so he tried his best to keep the hard work. It was better when they didn't want to obtain some information from him, like his age, his height, his weight or _his Tinder account_.

He had deleted the last thing many years before and had no intention of reopening it. Nope.

As his break time passed by, he stared at the puff zone. It was empty as it had been for a whole week. Usually, only Younghyun sat there, with the jacket folded, legs crossed and a whole bunch of documents. And a sweet, bright smile. Since that day when Wonpil had gone with the other man, Jae hadn't seen the latter. Perhaps he was busy with work.

Or perhaps the businessman had decided to never come back or just go in some other time slot when Jae didn't work at all because Wonpil told him something or because he found _odd_ how Jae had reacted.

Yes, the blonde was an overthinker and was worried about having kind of frightened a calm, quite nice regular customer. And Wonpil's friend.

The truth is that Jae had asked Wonpil about Younghyun after his work finished and the brunette came back home. The CEO had only smirked for a while before explaining that Kang Younghyun was the boss of the most important part of his company, Daydream S.A. (although it was mostly known as the Kim Company), and that the dark-haired was also a close friend of his. When Jae asked _how close_ they were, Wonpil laughed and said something along the lines of _why hyung? Are you interested in him?_.

Which he gained a cold glare from Jae for.

The bell rang and Jae snapped out of his thoughts and boredom. He even put the phone in his pocket after glancing at the wall clock and noticing that his break had finished. Already with a smile on his face, he looked at the new customer, ready to take their order.

Only that the customer was a hot Kang Younghyun wearing some plain, black t-shirt, a dark leather jacket and some blue jeans, with some cuts near the knee part. And some sneakers, which Jae _loved_ to wear. It was a shock for the American to see the usually-in-a-suit Younghyun wearing such a... casual... outfit...

And perhaps Jae also _loved_ leather jackets.

He cleared his throat and approached Younghyun as he sat on the puff. Jae took a moment to detail the other one's face, curious about _why_ he wasn't wearing a _suit_. He noticed some bags under the foxy eyes, as well as some mark on the Korean's neck. _Is that... a hickey?_ Jae tilted his head, not really caring about it, only feeling curiosity. He was someone who loved a good riddle, after all.

"Hey there, Younghyun. Haven't seen you in a while... Do you want your usual muffin and coffee?" Jae greeted him with a smile and a casual tone. On the inside, he was freaking out. _At least I know he doesn't hate this coffee shop, I would feel so bad..._

"Good morning too, Jaehyung." His voice sounded a bit raspy, almost as if those were the first words he said in the whole morning. "Put me two muffins instead of one... And the coffee must be strong, please." Jae nodded, aware of the other one's sleepy expression, and went to get him some muffins.

_He should sleep more. I wish I coul- no. You don't wish anything._

He came back quite quickly and waited for Younghyun to notice him again. He was messaging someone with a fond smile. Jaehyung started to feel irritated for waiting ( _I'm not a streetlight, sir_ ) and cleared his throat to gain the dark-haired's attention. And he did.

He got those foxy eyes looking straight to his with many emotions, but Jae only identified the strongest one: loneliness.

And perhaps tiredness.

"Here you have, sir." The worker placed the order on the small table with a smile. "Anything else you may need?"

"I do, but I guess that you can't really help me," the words slipped out of Younghyun's lips before he could really think them twice. _Great._

After all, Younghyun was tired. He had spent a long time flying back to Korea the day before, arrived around 2 am, slept for only four hours and a half and then got up because he received a call. The Lee company wanted to reschedule the meeting to next Monday instead of Wednesday, which meant that Younghyun had to prepare everything during the weekend (because he wasn't going to work during that Friday, Wonpil had _told_ him, had _warned_ him, to stay home and make himself comfortable or he would _summon_ a demon to torture him... Younghyun didn't know if that was possible, but he wouldn't try to fight against Wonpil's amazing good luck and determination). 

And it also meant that he had fewer days to find a good interpreter for the work. He had tried to message all his employees from the translator team and they were or a) busy that day, b) not trained to be interpreters in real-time or c) had finally a free day, and Younghyun wasn't such an _asshole_ to make them work on a _day off_. And the whole issue produced him so much stress that he ended up forgetting to eat breakfast.

And hours later, he was trying to eat more to compensate for the missed meal. So it was normal that he would make that mistake and say those things without thinking.

"You look stressed. Who knows, maybe I can help." Younghyun stared at the American with curiosity. _Why_ was he so willing to help him? "You are Wonpil's friend, right? Wonpil told me that. Well, and that you're a boss in some part of his company, wasn't paying so much attention... It must be burdensome, and whatever has you like this may affect your work. And your work affects my friend's life directly, of course."

_He only cares for Wonpil, okay._

"Besides, you look like a nice guy, so I"m willing to help you if I can."

_Or maybe not._

"I'm being too nosy, right? I'll leave you alone."

"No, wait." Younghyun stopped him as quickly as he could. Jae turned around and stared at him. "Sorry, had an awfully long week away and now found more problems. Perhaps you can help me... Do you know someone who is an _interpreter_?"

  
  


Jaehyung stayed silent for some seconds, his mind rushing as if it was trying to win a race. He did _more_ than know an interpreter. After all, he knew _himself_. _Quite the statement, quite the lie..._. Well, cross that out. He knew that he was an interpreter and that he was famous. And Jae wondered why Younghyun was asking him that question. 

"You see," the dark-haired continued as he saw that the waiter wasn't going to answer, "I have this meeting with the representative of a foreigner country, Canadian for your interest, and need an interpreter to make sure that there's no mistake made during the meeting. So... Do you have someone in your contact list?"

"I may know someone..." Younghyun's eyes sparkled with interest and Jae gulped. 

"And who may this person be?" The Korean smiled, excited.

"Well... Myself."

Younghyun stared for five long seconds. Jae could see the engines in the other's brain working while processing the information, so he waited patiently for a reaction. _Let it sink. Perhaps I don't give those vibes... The vibes of someone who is more than a waiter in a coffee shop._

"You?" The American noticed the disbelief behind the other man's eyes. 

"Yes, myself. Why? Is it so difficult to imagine that someone like me is an interpreter but also works in a coffee shop?" 

Younghyun was dumbfounded by Jae's sarcastic tone. He hadn't meant _that_ , he was just surprised because, well, he didn't expect to find someone _so easily_. Besides, why was Jae working then in Pandora and not out there trying to find a job as a translator? _If he sent his curriculum to Daydream, I would totally hire him..._ Younghyun noticed his curiosity towards the American increasing.

And that scared him a little because it had been _years_ since he wanted to know so much about _someone_.

Jae watched the dark-haired grabbing his briefcase and opening it. _Perhaps I was too sarcastic, should I apologize?_ Before even opening his mouth, a card blocked his views. He moved a little and heard Younghyun's chuckle. Then he grabbed the card and read it.

_Kang Younghyun._

_Global Connection Section. Daydream S.A._

_Email: k.younghyun@gmail.com_

_Numb-_

"Sorry. It's my card." Younghyun's voice made him look back at the owner. The Korean man was scratching his nape. "Uh... I didn't mean to offend you. I was just surprised because I didn't expect to find someone to do the job so quickly... and certainly not in a coffee shop." The dark-haired gave Jae an excited smile, which made him shine like the Sun. _Ba-doom_. Jae ignored that. "Do you want to work for me?"

_Is he asking me to go back to my field...?_

"You don't need to answer me right now." Younghyun looked at his watch. It was almost time to go and he hadn't eaten yet nor hadn't drunk his coffee. "You have my number there, on the card. I hope, though, that you say yes, Jaehyung."

"You don't even know my skills."

"But I trust that you wouldn't say anything if you weren't confident in them," Younghyun smirked and started to devour his muffins. Jae nodded and went to take another customer's order.

Minutes later, Younghyun went to pay and left the coffee shop with a smile. He had seen Jaehyung's doubt in his eyes, but he wanted to have hope. It would be a great opportunity to know a little bit more about the other one, too. He could feel more energized.

"Younghyun!"

The dark-haired turned around and saw Jae almost running towards him. He almost laughed when he noticed how the other stopped running because he was receiving some stares from people. The businessman waited patiently until the other one was next to him.

"Yes?"

"I... accept your offer."

And Jae smiled at him with so much confidence and determination in his eyes that Younghyun thought that the other one was deadly handsome.

"Okay, Jaehyung. Give me your email address, I will send you details so you can prepare for the meeting." Younghyun noted in his phone the address and sent Jae an email.

_k.younghyun@gmail.com has sent you an email_

_Subject: hey_

_Text:_

_Hello, thanks for accepting^^. Did this arrive?_

Jae laughed.

"Yes, it arrived... Why are you asking it? What are you? A boomer?" 

"I'm kind of bad with technology sometimes, maybe I'm an old man in the body of a young one," Younghyun joked.

Jae smiled. _I like his humour style_. "When is the meeting?"

"On Monday, about 3:15 pm."

"Oh, I finish my shift over 2:30 pm." 

"Then I'll come and get you." _Hell yeah, now I have a driver for myself._ "I'll send you this afternoon the information, so you can ask me whatever you need. Now get back to work, Sungjin is staring at us from the door."

"Oh, right, right. Then... email you later, Younghyun." Jae winked playfully and got back to the shop.

Not knowing how much had Younghyun smiled at that action, or how much his chest went _wrong_. 

_Calm down. He's beautiful and interesting... and what? However, I wonder why he wears those specs... They don't seem to have glass on them. All for the aesthetic?_

Younghyun let out a laugh and smiled while walking away. 

  
  


On the other hand, Jae was currently busy trying to not mess up several orders while his mind was somewhere else. He could feel his insecurities having a meeting in his brain, trying to tell him that _perhaps_ accepting had been a _bad idea_. However, Jae wanted to that job.

Jae wanted to feel again the joy, the excitement of translating. He wanted to go and do what he had studied for, what made him happy. 

Was it related to a bad experience? Yes.

Should that stop him? No.

And had he unconsciously said yes because he wanted to know about Wonpil's friend? Yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy fifth anniversary with Day6! Already five years... I can't be the only one who cried when Sungjin's live notification appeared on the screen, no? 
> 
> I hope you all have a wonderful day, bbaing!


	9. Pouring rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Wonpil ends work on a Sunday, it rains.

"I'm leaving, boss. Have a nice Sunday!"

Wonpil sighed as he saw the lift's doors shutting. Bambam was leaving earlier because he had a gathering with some friends of his from the Wang company. Besides, the Thai wasn't even supposed to be working on _Sunday_. It was just that Wonpil had something to do and he couldn't help it but be stuck all afternoon there.

And, of course, his secretary had to accompany him during those long, stressful working hours. And Wonpil could have told him to stay (more like _order_ him to), but he was aware of the fact that Bambam's life didn't revolve around his work... not like his own one. 

And with that, Wonpil continued working. He did notice that it was getting darker outside, but he thought that it was only a matter of the time passing and night almost falling. Therefore, he was surprised when he heard a sudden thunder as he was getting ready to leave. It had sounded _extremely_ near. And Wonpil hated rainy days except for particular occasions.

Since he was a child, only bad things happened to him on rainy days. For example, his dog had died due to an illness when he was six. Also, he had had his heart broken for the first time on a rainy day too, when he wanted to confess to some boy he liked from his high school... and saw him kissing a girl in the building entrance.

Furthermore, it had rained for several days when his father died. Wonpil could remember those days perfectly: how he received a call from the hospital because his father had had a heart attack and needed an urgent surgery; how his mother had cried all night over his shoulder, as well as his older sister, and he was the one in charge of everything while trying not to break down; how all the investors told him to assume his father's place while the man was still _fighting for his life_. 

And how his father had died some days later when Wonpil was the only one there. The man had grabbed his hand and told his son how much he loved him before shutting his eyes. Wonpil called the nurse, but he already knew that his father's soul had abandoned the mortal body and would not return. He was on his way to Heaven, to sit along with the angels and other pure souls. Because Wonpil knew that his father had been a good man his whole life, that he had been the best father he could get and the best husband to his mother.

He remembered wearing black clothes for several days. He also remembered how time went by, how months went by, and he was still struggling each day to get up from his bed knowing that the most important person in his life was gone forever. He cried each night until he fell asleep and he could notice how the bags under his eyes were growing deeper and deeper, how his hair was losing its brightness and how he got _slimmer_ because he was losing too much weight.

Even if the rain got away for months, it came back. And with it, Wonpil found a new light.

He saw a bright light and snapped out of his thoughts. It wasn't the time to recall the past, it was the time to try to decide what to do. Because out of all the days, Kim Wonpil had decided to walk to the company that day. Umbrella-less. _Perhaps I should have checked the weather forecast for today. Silly me._ He asked himself what he was supposed to do. 

Maybe he could call someone, but he didn't want to annoy anyone that day. He was a little bit down. After all, his father's death anniversary was approaching. And it was a rainy day that day. Those always got him under the weather. Anyway, the brunette sighed. _Guess that I'll have to run for my life under the rain._ He grabbed his briefcase and put on his jacket and his coat. _Time to go._

He took his time to get down in an attempt to wait and hope that the storm would go away. However, his plan worked the other way around: the storm was right over him. He could see the dark clouds all over the sky, pouring water mercilessly, striking lightning here and there and making the world shake with thunders. _God, don't tell me I'm the new Noah or something. I haven't built the arch yet._

Well, he couldn't gather people for the arch because the streets were entirely empty except for some cars, so that wasn't the plan, it seemed.

The brunette sighed and started to run back home. He could feel the water slipping through the fabric of the coat, getting into his shoes and soaking his hair. He shivered because it was cold and because the storm only got _worse_ while he tried to get back home.

And then he had to obviously slip and crash himself against a streetlight.

Wonpil shut his eyes and groaned. He put a hand on his head. _It hurts..._ He was dizzy, sitting on the floor with eyes closed. He felt stupid. It wasn't his day and _that_ hadn't helped _at all_. It only made him feel _worse_. He opened his eyes, got up and walked to the nearest building only to sit next to it. He crawled up, his legs as close to his body as they could, while he looked up at the sky. _At least I won't get too wet thanks to the balconies up there..._

He heard a door near being opened, but he didn't turn around. He was wishing for the rain to stop. Then, someone put a warm blanket over him and he blinked, confused... until he heard a familiar voice.

"Are you okay, sir? I saw you trip and hit that streetlight... Wait, Wonpil?"

_Of all the places in the world, I had to trip infront of Pandora. My fucking luck._

"Wonpil, you're soaking wet. Come inside." Sungjin pushed the brunette gently inside the coffee shop and didn't stop until the other man was sitting down.

The owner of Pandora noticed the man shivering and he felt bad about it. He wasn't supposed to be there that day, but he was glad he did: the dark-haired had left Dowoon under the care of a close friend of his who usually worked as the child's nanny or something like that when Sungjin couldn't be with his son. He trusted that man with his whole life and, well, his friend worked in a childcare centre. It was only natural to ask him for help _sometimes_. 

Anyway, Sungjin had gone to the store only to get something he had forgotten the day before. While he was tidying everything up, he saw a figure through the windows running. _Poor man, under the rain- oh, no._ His heart ached when he saw the man tripping and hitting his head against the streetlight. He went to the back store to get a blanket he had there just in case and get the man some _warmth_. It was a late November day, and with a storm. 

The temperature was more than freezing.

Although he hadn't expected that the man was Kim Wonpil himself. Slowly, he took Wonpil's soaked coat out. He briefly touched Wonpil's skin and almost shivered: the CEO was _too cold_ and didn't seem to answer. _Maybe he really hit himself hard._ The dark-haired moved closer and touched Wonpil's head.

"W-what are you doing?" _At least he can speak_.

"I'm only looking for any bruise. You seem okay, Wonpil." The owner of the shop looked through the brunette's hair. _I_ _t's so soft..._

Wonpil could feel his cheeks getting redder because Sungjin was _too_ close. _Stupid heart, he will hear you and discover how_ crazy _we are for him. Calm down!_ He closed his eyes, mesmerized by the other's gentle touch. It was almost like hearing a calming, soothing lullaby for him. The brunette felt a little bit _better_ and his lips curved up a little.

Then Sungjin took a step back and the warmth was gone.

"I'm going to prepare you something. Perhaps a hot chocolate?" The dark-haired offered with a soft smile. The other one nodded and Sungjin went to prepare it, not really taking his eyes away from his... eh... _unexpected_ customer. The sign on the door said closed, yet he was serving someone. _It's just a friendly service._

Some minutes later, he got back with the hot chocolate and sat next to Wonpil. He watched the other take some sips in silent. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence for both men. However, Sungjin was worried and wanted to know why his friend had been out there running under the freezing rain.

"So?" Wonpil looked at him with those beautiful eyes he had. _We did_ not _think that._ * "May I ask why you were running?"

"I have no umbrella. Nor car. Today I went to the company by feet." The younger one shrugged his shoulders. "And I thought I could get back home soon. I didn't count with a streetlight in the middle of my way." _At least he can joke_. The brunette looked back to the hot chocolate, deep in thought.

"How are you feeling? Does your head still hurt?" Sungjin's hands itched to touch the other one's hair again. 

"It doesn't hurt so much now. Probably it was nothing." Wonpil sighed as he had too much on his shoulders.

"You didn't answer my first question, Wonpil."

Wonpil stared at the man. And, even though he smiled, Sungjin could see how it wasn't his usual smile: it wasn't as cheerful as always and his eyes didn't transmit any happiness. In fact, it was the other way around: the owner of Pandora could only see the sadness in them. 

So he approached the other man and just hugged him silently. Even if he disliked skinship usually. He just did it. He could feel Wonpil getting closer, grabbing his black hoodie tighter as if he didn't want to let Sungjin go. As if he had waited to have someone who would hug him and hold him tight like the dark-haired was doing. The brunette hid his head on Sungjin's chest and the other one almost stopped breathing.

_Please... Don't let him notice how fast my heart is going. Not before I get to know him better. Not before he knows me better._

After a minute or two, Wonpil pulled away and Sungjin sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be showing you this ugly side of myself." The younger one smiled as usual, but Sungjin could see his eyes a little watery. 

"Perhaps... are you the type of person who gets down on rainy days?" He watched Wonpil nod and he smiled tenderly. "Bad experience?"

"Most of the times. Only once was a rainy day good," the other one murmured and took a sip of his hot chocolate. 

"When?"

Wonpil smiled when he remembered _that_ moment.

It was some months after his father's death, some years before the 'present' moment. Wonpil had already taken over the place of the CEO, as well as his office. He had also gotten a new secretary for himself, a man named Bambam, who was extravagant, bright and intelligent, as well as organized and careful in his job. Those were the reasons why Wonpil gave him the job even before a formal interview... He followed his gut, and he had now the best secretary in the world.

Anyway, those months had been horrible for Wonpil. Everyone in the company was worried for the CEO: he was a young man, the son of the previous one, and they could all see how he slowly became tinier inside his suits. Furthermore, the new CEO received several calls from her mother each day, or even visits. She would walk around looking for his son and taking too much time from him only to check on him, not trusting his young boy for the job.

So we had a sad Wonpil who worked hard, even beyond his limits, to satisfy the investors, the company employees and his mother. He had abandoned his study to focus on keeping the company functionating properly, which was another matter for which he got yelled each day by his mother.

He was _done_. He was _tired_. He wanted to _escape_.

And so he did once.

The brunette had once run away from the family driver on a rainy day. He ignored all the calls from his mother. He even turned his phone _off_. He wanted to be by himself for once. He was _23_. He was a _grown-up_. 

And he didn't have any control over his life at all.

And as usual, when it's a rainy day and vision isn't the best because you're crying... The poodles become your worst enemies. He ended on the floor, just like he would do some years later. And as some years later, he would feel awful about it.

And like some years later, he would be found by someone else.

The 23-year-old Wonpil noticed how the rain stopped around him. He looked at his right and saw a pair of shoes. As he went up, he finally saw face to face a young man, perhaps a year older, who was holding a green umbrella over his head. The brunette could see how the stranger's shoulder was getting wet while the other hand was near Wonpil, inviting him to use it to stand up.

Wonpil got up with the help of the other man, embarrassed because he was an adult. He wasn't supposed to be out there in the rain, sitting on a poodle and crying. He looked down and gasped when a hand raised his chin. Wonpil could see the stranger staring straight into his eyes and almost gasped again when he noticed how bright the other one's eyes were.

_So pretty_.

"Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" The stranger's man voice was quite raspy, but Wonpil liked it. The brunette shook his head and saw the other one smile briefly. "Then take care and go back home before the rain becomes worse... Have a nice day." And with a smile, he left Wonpil alone with some burning cheeks.

The brunette watched the other one's back as he went further away and he saved in his memory how the man had been only a little bit taller than him, how his hand was smooth, how his light-brown hair looked fluffy and how wonderful his eyes were. And the rain stopped, suddenly.

And no more than a month later, Wonpil went to Pandora with a new employee, Younghyun. And his heart almost jumped out of his chest when his eyes connected with the owner's... and he could recognize the same guy who had held that umbrella for him. Only that he had now some dark-hair colour which _suited_ him _too well_.

"When isn't important, Sungjin... Although I feel like I'm living a _dejà vú_." His words were an enigma for the older guy, who raised an eyebrow. Wonpil chuckled. "Don't try to brood over my words, you won't get anything from them."

"Okay, I won't ask for your secrets." The dark-haired observed the brunette. He seemed to be better. "So? Are you feeling better now?"

"Kind of."

"Wanna talk about whatever has you down?"

"Well..." Wonpil hesitated for a moment. However, if he wanted to be close to Sungjin, he had to be _himself_ , and _honest_. "My father's death anniversary is approaching. He died almost in late November some years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear so." Sungjin's chest ached after watching Wonpil saddening. He could tell that the younger one was being honest with him, and he felt extremely grateful for that.

"It was a rainy day, too." Wonpil leaned against the back of the chair and sighed. Then he turned a little his head to look at his companion. "Of course, it had to be raining that day... and some days later too... It was quite a bad time in my life, Sungjin."

"Were you and your father close?"

"We were best friends." Wonpil's eyes got a little watery. "I... miss him each day of my life. The months after his death were _horrible_ , Sungjin. I had to take care about _so many things_ that no one let me take a moment to _mourn him_ , to be _sad_ about it. I had to hide it." Sungjin felt like hugging the man again. "But. I got over it, you see?" 

And the brunette smiled as brightly as always. _However... How many times has he smiled like that and has fooled all of us? Since when has Wonpil hidden all these feelings, this side of himself...? Why wasn't I there for him then?_ He blinked twice after that thought. _So we are finallly admitting how much we want to be part of this guy's life, huh._

"Anyway. I think I feel better now, yeap." The CEO finished his cup of chocolate and looked amused at the dark-haired. "What were you doing here, sir? I believe that you don't open on Sunday."

"And I don't." Sungjin noticed the change of subject. Perhaps Wonpil didn't want to hear anything which he had to say about the matter anymore. He could understand it. "But I forgot something important."

"What is it? If I may ask." The younger man had curiosity written all over his face. _Perhaps this is the real Wonpil: a curious, honest man... I wonder how many people get to see him how he is._

"My watch." He raised his hand to show it to him. "It's been with me for _years_. A gift from someone special."

"Some significant other?" Wonpil joked more or less. He was _afraid_ to hear the answer. He felt like it would end any hope he had. Yes, maybe the brunette knew that Sungjin cared for him, that he had some gestures he didn't have with other customers ( _maybe because we're friends_ ) and, well, he had caught him several times staring at him. During the last weeks, each meeting they had in Pandora had included some stories from Sungjin too, not only Wonpil blabbering over his life. That's how he knew that Sungjin didn't like too many shows of affection... but he had hugged Wonpil.

He had seen interest from Sungjin, but he was _afraid_.

"Yeap, my ex-girlfriend."

The confirmation didn't help Wonpil feel better, but he hid it. He cleared his throat and looked at his own watch. _He did say ex-girlfriend... Maybe he's still single... or not._

"It is quite late. Want me to take you home? I have the car nearby," Sungjin suggested. He couldn't let the younger man run back home, nor he wanted to say goodbye yet.

"Okay, thank you."

  
  
  


Minutes later, Wonpil found himself being followed by a concerned Jaehyung. He went to his room dripping some water, not really caring about it. When he was about to take off his coat, he realized that he was wearing the warm coat that Sungjin had given him (a spare one he had in his car) because _the other one is damped, Wonpil, you will only catch a cold if I let you go home with that on_. He had been more concerned for Wonpil's health than the younger one's coat wetting the car's inside... 

The brunette smiled and, as he was taking off his jacket and shirt, his cheeks became redder as he could smell Sungjin's cologne thanks to the hug.

And perhaps he gained a _tell me what happened and why are you competing with a tomato, young boy?_ from Jaehyung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have too much to add, just that thank you for the support!


	10. The meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyung goes with Younghyun to the famous meeting with the Lee company.

The blonde man stared at the clock, fidgeting. He was starting to think that, maybe, it had been a bad idea to accept the offer. However, he wasn't the type of person who broke his promises even if others did with him, and he had promised through email to help Younghyun. Jae smiled as he recalled the few emails they had sent each other: Younghyun seemed to be an easygoing guy who loved to joke a lot, but knew when to be serious.

The first email that Jaehyung had received after that 'hey' one had been one with no subject and all and just some documents. The American was laughing when he received another email from Younghyun, where he explained that he had sent it without writing down the subject because _I am dumb, Jaehyung, and I told you I'm not good with technologies. :(_. 

That had made Jae laugh even _more_.

Since then, they had been exchanging some more emails because they would ask each other questions. For example, Jae now knew how much Younghyun loved Shrek and how he learnt English by... watching it... _I may be quite fluent in English but need an interpreter, Jaehyung_. And he got that answer because yes, Younghyun had answered him sometimes in English and Jae wanted to _know_ how much the other guy knew, or how he knew so much.

And he found _perfect_ that the other guy could understand his mother tongue. Sometimes it was difficult for him to speak with Wonpil because he would rather use English to express himself sometimes, but the CEO's proficiency in English was quite _low_. Jae smiled again. 

Perhaps he should also expand his circle of friends to include Younghyun. _Only perhaps_.

When he looked again at the clock, he noticed that his shift had finally finished. With his hands trembling because he was _too_ nervous, he went to the back store and left his nametag where it should be. Then he approached his boss, who was saying bye to the last customers before closing for an hour to eat and that kind of stuff.

"Time to go, boss." Sungjin smiled at the young man. Jaehyung had told him about the offer he had got from Wonpil's friend and colleague. 

"I wish you luck, hyung." Jae shot him a warm smile. He was _happy_ to hear him calling him hyung because that meant that they were somewhat _close_. 

"Thank you, Sungjinie." The dark-haired continued smiling.

Actually, Jae had another reason to befriend Sungjin, besides he wanting to be closer to his boss. Because, yes... After the sudden storm the previous day, Jaehyung had seen a soaking wet Wonpil return home with the most dumbest smile in the world (yes, it deserves two superlatives). And also with a coat which wasn't _his_. Of course, the blonde had been concerned and had to ask him what had happened.

"I forgot to bring an umbrella to the company," Wonpil had started explaining while changing his clothes, "so I ran... and then... I crashed against a streetlight," the brunette had admitted, embarrassed. "Don't look at me like that, hyung. The good part is that it was in front of Pandora, so Sungjin saw it and helped me... He also brought me here..." The younger man had interrupted himself and stared to the infinity while grabbing tightly the coat.

That's when Jae was sure about the other one's situation.

"You like Sungjin, don't you?" Wonpil had turned at him with panic in his eyes. "It's really obvious, Pil... Why didn't you tell me?"

"You would tease me to _death_ , hyung."

"And I'm going to do it, don't you dare doubt it." The brunette glared at him, but he gave a _fuck_ about it. He smirked at the youngest one and patted him on the head. "Listen, how long have you been liking him?"

"Three years." Jae whistled, amazed. _Three years...? That's even longer than... Whatever._ "Pathetic, right?"

"Love has no rules, Pil... However, I believe that you have a _chance_." 

And then the conversation had flowed towards how Wonpil had met Sungjin many years before (which made Jaehyung trust the man even more) and how little he knew about the other one. The brunette also informed him from his 'meetings' with Sungjin, where they would bond together and all that kind of stuff. 

The American thought that his friend was _blind_ , because Sungjin was _obviously_ interested too... but he decided not to say anything once he heard about an _ex-girlfriend_. The blonde wanted to hide somewhere because, even though he hadn't heard the whole story from Sungjin ( _yet_ ), he could imagine that _that ex_ was Dowoon's mother. _So he keeps a watch... Past hunts us all_.

Anyway, after speaking about Wonpil's love interest, Jae confessed that he had found, finally, a new therapist. Some man named Hajoon who his previous therapist, Woosung, had recommended him... He would have his first session that same Monday. And that was another reason to be _nervous as hell_.

Going back to the present time, the American left the coffee shop while his heart was pounding hard. Perhaps he was excited about the meeting. He had studied everything he could about the Lee company and Daydream, especially about the contract and what would mean to both companies. He expected to do a good job, to blow Younghyun's mind and to confirm that he hadn't lost his talent and ability for this field of work.

And yes, blowing Younghyun's mind was one of his goals because he was sure that the other one still doubted his abilities... Even if he had sent him some information about some translations he had done. The other one had never named any of his previous works, so maybe he hadn't even read that information.

(Which was the truth)

_Honk_.

The blonde looked to his right, a little confused. There he saw an expensive-looking silver car, which was parked near the coffee shop entrance. Then he watched a man getting out of the automobile and turning around to stare at him with some cool and unnecessary sunglasses. Jae stared at him and approached the car.

After all, Younghyun had arrived. 

The American sat next to the driver's seat. He noticed the music coming out from the radio as the dark-haired got inside again and turned on the car. _Nice radio station, I like this song_. Jae hummed the song while Younghyun got them into the traffic of the bustling capital. As far as Jaehyung knew, they had about forty minutes before the meeting started.

"Have you eaten?" Jae couldn't help himself but take a look at the driver: he was looking as stunning as always. The Korean was smiling as well. 

"I grabbed something before getting out of work." The blonde watched Younghyun frowning. "It's okay, I don't really eat too much."

"No wonder you're so thin. Would you like to accompany me somewhere after the meeting? I want to invite you to eat something." The dark-haired gazed at Jaehyung since they had stopped due to a red light. The American could see the hope in the other man's eyes.

"Okay, I guess. Thanks," he added quickly. He didn't want to sound _rude_. The other man smirked and Jae stared through the window.

The rest of the trip towards the meeting point was silent between the two men, only the music from the radio keeping them from being 100% in a silent car. Jae found quite interesting all the cars which passed by, or maybe he wanted to distract himself. He could feel himself worn out from last night, as he had stayed until late deep in thought after the conversation with Wonpil.

His insomnia stroke again after he fell asleep some minutes and woke up thanks to _another fucking nightmare_. The previous nights hadn't been good to Jae too, so no wonder that he could feel himself dozing off in the car, all relaxed thanks to the music and the humming from the driver.

"By the way, Jaehyung... Do you have any special allergy?" Younghyun asked. He was excited to be spending time with the blonde man. As he got no answer, he turned to his right. "Jaehyung?"

Then he noticed the other man asleep.

The dark-haired sighed. He had noticed that, perhaps, the older one had trouble sleeping because he would answer his emails during the weekend at 3, 4 or even 5 am. And then he would answer from 7 am too. If he went to sleep after 5 am and woke up at 7 am, that meant that the blonde man slept only _two hours._

And that worried Younghyun quite a bit. After all, he was getting to know this man. He had _too much_ curiosity about him, and wanted to know that he was _okay_ , or as fine as possible. The driver looked at Jaehyung out of the corner from time to time. He was pleased to see the other one sleeping.

It was the first time he could see a rather relaxed expression on the blonde man. The American always looked as if he was about to explode or run away, and Younghyun didn't want to make him react like that at all. The Korean man frowned again. _Perhaps I should really think deeply about this curiosity I feel towards him... Or this instinct to protect him._

But it was beyond terrifying to try to understand what he was feeling. After all, he was a thinker. He was afraid of what it could all mean. And he was even more afraid because he had an answer in mind.

He parked the car in the parking lot and turned it off. Then he stared at Jaehyung, who was still asleep. The blonde man was frowning hard and even seemed to whisper something. Younghyun approached him to hear what he was saying.

"No... Please... Sto-no..." 

"Jaehyung? Hey, Jaehyung. Wake up." The dark-haired called him. _He must be having a nightmare..._ The Korean didn't want to touch him if it wasn't necessary. "Park Jaehyung!" With a sigh, Younghyun shook the other one's shoulder.

  
  


Jae opened immediately his eyes. _Where am I?_ He felt dizzy after that nightmare and he looked around. _A car? Still in the car? Wasn't it a nightmare?_ He could feel himself trying to breathe. He noticed a figure beside him and almost yelped because he was too close and he was in a closed car and nobody he considered safe near and it was like _that tim-_.

"Jaehyung?" The blonde recognized Younghyun's voice. He could still hear his own heartbeats loudly but felt himself calming down. He felt... safe, more or less, near the other man. "Breathe in and out. In. Out." Jae followed the other one's commands. "...Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks again." _This is so awkward, for God's sake... You just showed him your worst side again. Best way to make friends, Jae_. "I'm sor-"

"No need to apologize," Younghyun smirked at him and Jae blinked twice with a dumbfounded expression. _I don't need to apologize?_ "I mean, you don't have to be sorry. It's normal to have nightmares, and it's normal to feel disoriented afterwards or just have _fear_. As long as you had some rest, then it's all fine, Jaehyung." 

The dark-haired's warm smile touched something deep inside the blonde man. It was the first time someone besides Wonpil told him to stop apologizing. Usually, the people around him wanted him to feel sorry for everything. Jaehyung nodded slowly and looked around. _Oh, we arrived._

He followed Younghyun out of the car and into the building. In the entrance, they found a young man who presented himself as Donghyuck, the secretary of the son of the Lee company founder, Mark. Both men followed the secretary through numerous corridors.

_I'd better not fuck up_ was Jaehyung's last thought after getting in a room and greeting Mark Lee, which meant that the meeting had started.

*******************************

"I'm amazed."

_ I'm starting to think that Younghyun has a praise kink, but it's not that he likes to be praised but loves to praise people. _

"I think that you've said the same for the last half an hour," Jae replied while grabbing his hamburger.

"Because I mean it."

That had been one of the smoothest meetings Younghyun had _ever_ held. Gosh, Jaehyung had been _perfect_ : he knew when to talk and when to stop, he knew how to phrase everything so each party knew what was going on and the dark-haired noticed that the blonde had _actually_ prepared himself professionally. There had been no sign of the nervous man who he always saw, no: Younghyun had been mesmerized by the confident tone Jaehyung had used while translating from one language to the other as if it was something easy to do.

It would be a lie to say that Younghyun hadn't had quite the doubt until the beginning of the meeting. He hadn't read about Jae's curriculum because he had no time during the weekend, so he just trusted the man's word. Also, Wonpil's call the previous day had helped to make him trust easily in the blonde man. After all, Younghyun had to tell his boss and friend that he had somewhat hired the brunette's friend for a job.

Wonpil had laughed a lot. 

"What's so funny? You _knew_ an interpreter and didn't say anything! Why is Jaehyung working in a coffee shop?" 

"Hyung," had Wonpil started, "I already _told_ you about my dear friend Jaehyung, it's just that your brain is not _clicking_. Anyway, yes, he's one of the best interpreters and translators out there, he really made himself a name in the USA while working for years and all..." The brunette sighed. "Listen, I've given you too many hints about him already. I promise you that you will be more than satisfied with his work."

"Hints?"

"Cross out that from your brain now. Younghyun hyung, are you willing to hire Jaehyung hyung if he does a good job?" After hearing that question, the dark-haired felt as if Wonpil was actually _ordering_ him to do it. He felt as if he was part of a chessboard game, only a pawn in something that the brunette had planned.

"Were you planning to make us meet?" Younghyun had raised his eyebrow while hearing Wonpil's giggles.

"I won't answer that, believe what you want. Just take into consideration hiring Jaehyung hyung, he's beyond amazing and needs to go back to his comfort zone in work after all he's gone through."

Younghyun had been left with that mysterious ending for the call the previous day. 

He watched the older man take a bite from his hamburger. He hadn't lied when he said that he didn't eat too much: the Korean man could only convince the other to invite him to a hamburger and a coke. Even though it was quite unhealthy food, the older one seemed satisfied. Besides, it had been quite the years since Younghyun had gone to some random fast-food place. Usually he ate in restaurants or at home.

Luxury, yeap.

"Is it good, Jaehyung?" The Korean man asked in an attempt to create some conversation with the other one. Jae nodded several times with a small smile. "It's been years since I came to one of these places."

"Really? Another rich guy? Are you like Wonpil?" 

"Far from being as rich as him," Younghyun answered. "Do you dislike rich people?"

"Well, in my opinion, part of the money they have could be used to make the world a better place. For example, the first time I received money I saved part of it for my living expenses and donated the rest." The blonde shrugged his shoulders while curiosity grew inside the other man.

"Oh, right. You are a translator, I've heard that they get well-paid usually." _It takes a while but yeah_ , was Jae's thought. 

"Well, yeah. Although you have to make a name for yourself. Like, I got several offers while being in the USA and all..." Jae took another bite.

"Everyone knew who Jaehyung was?" 

"More like everyone knew who _Jae_ was, but yeap."

Then Younghyun felt a click in his brain. _I'm the dumbest person alive: a close friend of Wonpil, someone who's made a name in the USA, American, new to Seoul... Jaehyung. Jae. Oh, God._

"Wait, you're Jae?" He opened his eyes a lot. Jae nodded, confused at that reaction.

"Didn't you read the papers then? My name is Jaehyung Park, but I go mostly by Jae, especially in the USA. Why?"

"Wonpil is always speaking about you and how much he trusts you and how you were coming to live here with him and..." Younghyun sighed and Jae understood.

And couldn't help but laugh at the other guy.

"Are you telling me that you knew about me but didn't realize that I was me? Wait, that sounded confusing but... Thought you were a smart guy." Jaehyung couldn't stop laughing.

Younghyun glared at him offended, but something inside him made his stare softer and a sweet smile appeared on his face while watching Jae laugh so... happily. _It suits him, you know, being like this_. He kept staring in awe until the blonde shot him an uncomfortable look.

"If Wonpil is out there talking about me, did he tell you why I moved here...?" 

"Nope. He told me it was none of my business, which was true. But now... I believe that we could be friends, _Jae_." Jae liked how his name sounded in Younghyun's voice. "And, well, I still have an offer for you."

"Another one?"

"Would you like to work for me? In the company. Yes, Wonpil is the CEO but he lets me hire whoever I want because I'm the boss of a whole section and blablabla," he added before the other one could ask. _He read my mind, is he a psychic? Is he reading my mind right now?_ "No, I don't read minds." _THEN HOW DOES HE KNOW?_ "Stop panicking, it's written all on your face."

"Oh." Jaehyung cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Well... I will take into consideration. You know, right now I have a job already... Besides, you haven't told me what I'm supposed to do and I can't believe that you have _no_ translators at all." Jae got one leg up the chair and rested his head on his knee while staring at the other guy with curious eyes. 

Younghyun got lost in those eyes for a second and then looked at his watch.

"I can email you the details of your future job, if you accept, at some other moment... I should be going back to work. Sometimes being the boss is horrible," he joked and gained a smile from the blonde man. Indeed, he liked that relaxed Jae outside work. "Do you want me to give you a lift back home?"

"Nah, I'm good. I have to go somewhere else today... Guess it's time to say bye for now, Younghyun." Jae shot him a smile.

That day he got to see new sides from Jae, from the panicked one in the car to the serious and professional one during the meeting... and the relaxed one while eating. And that didn't calm down his curiosity.

It only made him want to know more and more and become closer to the other man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Younghyun's brain finally clicked...
> 
> Anyway, I start going to class again tomorrow... I'll try to upload when I can, I promise. Until then: be safe, be happy and dream always!


	11. A lovely new Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyung goes to Daydream S.A. because Wonpil calls him.

Jaehyung believed that coming to Seoul had been a good idea: he had been already for two weeks there and only good things had happened. And because he was a negative person, he was sure that something was about to go _wrong_. As for that day, he hadn't messed up any order (and gained a proud smile from his boss, who he had grown fond of) and even some praise from fellow companions (also known as Sana and Ryujin, who had taken the morning shift that day. Jaehyung found the girl interesting and was willing to become her acquaintance too). 

He waited until Sungjin closed the shop to head back home. The blonde couldn't forget the proposal which Younghyun had made the previous Monday: a chance to work as a translator in a well-known company... He took out his phone to re-read for the hundredth time the details of what his job would be: Younghyun wanted him to become the chief of the translator team, which meant that he would proof-read all documents translated to Korean, English, Spanish and Japanese (because yes, Jae knew those two languages too and had worked with both several times in the past... He was also learning Mandarin Chinese months before, but had to stop for _personal reasons_ ).

Also, his job included being the personal interpreter for the boss through meetings with investors and future allies, as well as being prepared at any time to translate a document as quickly as possible by direct order from Younghyun. As much as the work was, Jaehyung's eyes almost popped out when he saw how much he was going to be paid for it. _Now I understand how Wonpil is so rich, the Lord save us all... If I gain this, how much will the CEO receive?_

Besides, the email also included the possibility of meeting in some moment and having a further discussion about the terms of the contract, especially about anything related to Jaehyung's working hours. Younghyun had included a part where he offered to hire Jae for the afternoon's, so he could still work in the coffee shop if he was fond of it and wanted to continue there. As much as Jae appreciated that, he also thought that if he accepted Daydream's offer, he would abandon his job as a waiter.

It would be too much of a _hassle_ to have _two_ jobs, especially when one of the two just paid so much and was so flexible.

As the American was re-reading the email to remember all the details, the screen changed. He was a receiving a call from Wonpil (also known as _Kim Pil_ ). The man wondered why the other one was calling him at that time when he was probably working. With a lot of curiosity, he took the call.

"Hello?"

"Hyung! You finished your work for today, right?" Wonpil's happy tone made him suspicious. Jaehyung stopped walking. "No need to answer, I know your schedule~." That didn't calm him down. In fact, it had the opposite reaction.

"May I ask why you are calling so suspiciously? What are you planning?" He heard the other one's chuckle.

"You got me. See, I know about Hyu- Younghyun hyung offering you some job here, you know. Not only because you _told_ me, but also because he _notified_ me his decision. He also called himself an idiot because he didn't realize that you were my famous friend Jae."

"To how many people have you been blabbering about me?"

"Only to Hyunie hyung and Sungjin, don't worry." _So my boss knows that I'm here for who knows what reasons too, great. Well, my ex-boss, maybe? That sounds like X-box... I miss it._ "Anyway, hyung. I wanted to invite you to come over to Daydream."

"You want to kidnap me and tie me up there?" Jaehyung raised an eyebrow, amused.

"What? No! I only want to show you my working place. Like, my office and all! Perhaps if you see the company from inside you will have a positive, or maybe negative, opinion of it, which will help you to either accept or decline the job position." _Sounds fair to me. Besides, I have nothing to do for today._

"Okay, I'm in. Send me the address, it mustn't be so far from here." 

"I'll wait for you then, hyung!"

Minutes later Jaehyung was facing the entrance doors of the Daydream company. Everything around and from the building's outside _screamed_ how _important_ the company was. Jae asked himself just how powerful was his friend in South Korea for the first time. He hadn't bothered himself too much to know about it, he had enough with the fact that Wonpil had money and was the supreme leader of some company...

But perhaps he should dig in a little more. After all, Wonpil was more than a cute face with too much money for himself. He was a kind angel who hadn't asked him about his meeting with Hajoon yet because he wanted to _l_ _et you decide when to tell me about it, hyung... It's your session, I don't want to be an intruder and that kind of issue, you know_. 

Jae did ask himself if he deserved a friend like the brunette. Especially when the other one had welcomed him with a warm smile when he got back home, exhausted from a long day. It had been easy to trust Hajoon a little, perhaps because they talked about Woosung first and the therapist didn't ask too much from Jae: he just wanted the man to express himself.

Instead of asking for what he had gone through, he just reminded him to eat and sleep every night.

With a sigh, the blonde entered the building. He felt some eyes on him from the receptionists, as well as some workers down there going to the lift or just heading to the door. He stepped aside, trying to calm himself down, and sent Wonpil a message to let him know that he was there. The brunette didn't reply, so Jaehyung found himself more _anxious_.

"Hyung!" Jae turned around and saw Wonpil coming out of the lift followed by a stranger with an iPad. _He must be his secretary... Was it Bambam?_ "Glad to see you here... Just saw your message." Wonpil showed the phone on his hand and turned slightly to the man accompanying him. "Bambam, this is Park Jaehyung. Hyung, this is my secretary, Kunpimook Bhuwakul... But just call him Bambam." The Thai man greeted Jae with a handshake.

"Where are we heading...?" _This is so awkward._ He felt _observed_.

It made sense, he was just wearing some random shirt and jeans. And a coat. He was nowhere close to the formality in the building. _God, this was a bad bad bad bad idea_. Besides, he was there speaking as a casual friend with the _CEO_. The blonde gulped and followed Wonpil, not really listening to his chatter. 

The brunette proceeded to show his best friend the cafeteria from the building, where there was _edible stuff even for people with so many allergies as you, hyung_. Then they went to the highest floor, where the CEO's office was. Jae watched everything with interest.

In the office, he kept still for some seconds, looking at the framed pictures. He had seen some photos of Wonpil's father years before, when they met before the old man died. He also saw the newspaper where the death was announced... In each of the photos in the office, he could intuit that the old man had been a wonderful father to the brunette child next to him.

"He was amazing." Jae turned around and saw Wonpil smiling with a nostalgic expression. Then the younger stared at the older one. "I still look up to him and I know that he's in a better place now, far away from the chaotic life we humans have... Anyway, let's continue the tour, shall we?"

After Jae had nodded, they continued the tour through different floors and sections. The American felt almost a _celebrity_ because there were too many people who kept bowing when they saw Wonpil passing by. Also, some of them stopped and told the CEO something business-related... and Jae got to see the brunette's most serious and cold side. He was surprised and a bit intimidated, but Wonpil turned around with a smile and it was all fine again.

"Boss, I'm sorry to interrupt..." Bambam had been following the two men all the time with the iPad. He kept looking at the watch. Wonpil stopped pointing at some pictures on the wall and turned his head towards his secretary. "You have a meeting in about fifteen minutes. The one with the Hirai family."

"Ah, right. I had forgotten!" Wonpil suddenly remembered that and smiled at his secretary. "Thanks for being here, B." The Thai shrugged his shoulders. 

"Guess it's my time to go home..." Jae tried to escape but he felt Wonpil grabbing one of his coat's sleeves.

"Not so fast! Here is the Global Connection Section. You should meet the translator's team before going home." The American nodded. "Promise me you will, hyung."

"I will, I promise."

"Then goodbye for now!"

And Wonpil left with a cheerful voice almost running through the corridor with an amused Bambam behind him... and left Jaehyung alone in the middle of it. With his heart pounding hard, he continued the tour and reached the Global Connection Section. He felt some stares from the busy workers there and wanted to _hide_. Then he heard someone.

"Who did this? Mister Kang won't accept this paper." Jaehyung watched the nervous woman looking furiously some document on his hand. _Mister Kang... That's Younghyun._ He felt bad for her, so he approached the blonde woman. "Just why did they translate this word like this...?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure that they referred to another meaning for it," Jae had looked over the other one's shoulder. "Like, when it's used in this situation, it has a totally different meaning and different construction, that's why it may sound weird."

"Oh, you may be right... Who are you?" _Oh, you're just a creep now, Jae._

"Ah, sorry... I'm Park Jaehyung... I... May or not may be touring around here because You- Mister Kang," the blonde man rectified himself quickly, "offered me a job here." He watched the woman's eyes almost popping out.

"Oh? You're that Park Jaehyung? The American one? The one who translated for Korean, Spanish and English in the same meeting a year ago?" _A_ _h, right... That got on the news for some reason. Many translators looked up to me after that, gosh._ Jae scratched his nape, embarrassed, and nodded. "I can't believe this... I'm so honoured."

"The pleasure is mine, I'm no celebrity, miss..." 

"Just call me Diane." The woman smiled at him and looked back at the paper. Then she stared back at Jae. _She's plotting something, I can sense it._ "Could you please revise this?"

"Ah... Of course." 

Jae didn't expect to be out there in a lovely Thursday afternoon reading some private documents from one of the most important and powerful companies in South Korea, but, hey, life is uncertain in so many ways that he learnt to just go with the flow sometimes. And if the flow was leading him to read something, he would. He grabbed the pen which Diane was handing him and started to read patiently. 

Sometimes he stopped and made some notes on the border of the paper or just asked Diane, especially if there were names of something related to the company itself. He could recognize more or less some parts of the meeting of the previous Monday... Of course, he was reading the possible contract with the Lee company! He wanted to slap his forehead, but it would be weird to do it in front of the young woman he had just met. 

While correcting the translation and pointing out some weird structures, he noticed that he felt quite comfortable doing that kind of work. He remembered Younghyun's email and how _that_ would be part of his job if he accepted the offer from 'Mister Kang'. He asked himself if the translation team had more women than any other gender, especially men. He used to get along easier with any gender but men... even if he could only be romantically interested in them.

Both Diane and Jae were so into the document in their hands (which was several pages long) that they didn't realize that they were being observed by a dark-haired man in a suit. 

Younghyun had got out from his office when he had seen Jae's figure walking around. At first, he had thought that he was seeing some hallucination because he had been waiting for days for a call or an email where Jae would accept the offer. He could see the _potential_ and the _value_ of Jae in his team. But he knew that he was no one to be behind Jae pestering him and begging him to join if the blonde didn't want to.

After all, they weren't even friends. _Are we not? Are we? What are we?_ Younghyun kept observing Jae confidently marking some mistakes on the translation and explaining one by one to Diane. The boss had to smile at the sight: Jaehyung was already doing part of the job he expected him to do. He finally approached the duo.

"I believe that this is what it should be... Maybe I'm wrong, but let's hope no." Younghyun was dumbfounded by the blonde man's bright smile once more. Then he cleared his throat and both people jumped on their place.

"Oh! Mister Kang!" Diane's voice trembled a little. After all, she had been showing confidential stuff to a third party.

"Since when do my translators let people from outside the company read contracts?" Younghyun raised his eyebrow, his voice deadly serious. Jae frowned.

"Excuse me, it was me who insisted on helping. I take full responsibility." Jae took a step forward. Younghyun relaxed and smile. Diane laughed.

"It's okay, Jaehyung. I'm not so mean, it was a joke... Glad to see that you're already becoming one with the team... unless you aren't going to accept." He waved a hand towards Diane, who said something along the lines of _gotta go quickly, bye_. 

"Well... It seems nice here." Jae scratched his nape. He wasn't ready to see Younghyun again, not in his suit, not in an environment where he had full control. Nope. However, the dark-haired smiled softly and the American felt more in ease thanks to that.

"Accompany me to my office, unless you want to attract curious eyes." He made a gesture with his head towards some workers who were watching the scene. Jae nodded several times. "Then follow me."

_Is this his office or a robot's office...?_ Jae looked around. Unlike Wonpil's, there was no sign of humanity there: only economy and business-related books, some statues from animals, two sofas, a big table near a window with some chairs on one side and a big, comfy one on the other side... Some basic pictures on the walls... It could be seen as an empty room. It was even _cold_.

"Is this really your office?" Jae took a seat on a sofa. He could feel his heart going faster when Younghyun sat right next to him with a smirk.

"Why? Don't you like it?"

"It feels as if it was owned by a robot. Don't you have any family photos?" The blonde leaned against the back or the sofa and turned his head at his companion, staring with curiosity and amusement. The dark-haired gulped unconsciously. 

"Well, I'm a serious man. I don't like to be distracted at work by anything... If I had photos from people I love, I guess that I would have them in my mind all day." _Just like you_ , he wanted to add. But nope, he wouldn't. It was _irrational_ to do so.

Younghyun knew that it was only curiosity for whatever secrets Jae had. Once he knew them, he would be as important as any other friend he had, like Terry, Don or Wonpil, probably. And, well, he wasn't blind and admitted that, maybe, _Jae was cute and attractive, the glasses suit him so well and his smile is so- stop right there_. 

"Isn't that a little bit lonely, though? Like, living just to work. I believe that you have a life out of these walls, don't you?" 

"I do, of course. But work takes the first place in my priorities."

"What about friendship? Or love?" Jaehyung felt as he had said something wrong as soon as that word slipped out of his lips. He could see Younghyun's beautiful foxy eyes becoming colder.

"I have no interest in love right now, Jae." Those words were almost spitted out with disgust. _I wonder who broke you and made you part of the unhealed lovers, like me_. Jae nodded, sadly.

"I understand... Right now, thinking of a relationship with someone makes me feel uneasy, too. Beyond that, may I add. But it's a long story, dear friend." Younghyun opened his eyes as big as possible and smiled showing all his teeth.

_B_ _adoom_.

"You consider us as friends?" _Why does he look so happy?_

"Well, yeah... Unless you don't want to. Like, I'm not going to force you to do it. And, well, if I'm going to accept the job offer we could remain as boss and employee only, but since we've spoken some times already and we talk through email even if it's quite uncomfortable using that method, I-"

"Jaehyung, do you have a need to overexplain everything?" The blonde shut up immediately. _Old habits never go away._ He opened his mouth to apologize. "And to say sorry? I told you not to feel sorry for everything... Or I may be saying it for the first time now."

"Okay, I'm sor-" Jaehyung closed his mouth while Younghyun chuckled. He bit his lower lip, nervous. He even felt weirder when the other just stared at him. "What?"

"You shouldn't bite your lip, you could harm yourself." _And I don't want you to do that for my sanity_. Jaehyung stopped biting his lip and Younghyun sighed in relief. "Anyway, how and why are you here?"

"Wonpil called me to show me the building... But now I guess that he wanted me to be here to make myself comfortable." _Typical of Wonpil's schemes. Sly guy._ "Seems like a nice place in general..."

"So?" Younghyun was expecting a positive outcome of that unexpected meeting between both of them.

Jae sighed.

"So..." He stood up. "It's time that I go home." He saw Younghyun's confused face and let out a laugh. "Send me the official contract through email, you know the address. I'm willing to accept your offer, mister Kang."

Younghyun's eyes sparkled and Jaehyung knew deep inside that he was even more _doomed_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! My first class week finished... And I have a lot of work to do, so probably will take my time to update... Sorry for that, haha.
> 
> Thank you for all the kind comments you leave, it does mean a lot. 'Til the next update!


	12. The best outcome of a wedding...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae goes shopping with Wonpil and... to a wedding ceremony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this might be the longest chapter I've written for now.

"So you are abandoning me?"

Jae snorted after hearing Sungjin's dramatic question. It was Friday, minutes before opening the shop, and Jaehyung had informed Sungjin about him accepting to work for Daydream. The owner of Pandora was extremely happy for the blonde man since he could see how much the other one wanted to do it and, well, he was a _friend_. Besides, he couldn't help but trust the American after watching him for two weeks and seeing how naive he was sometimes.

He felt as he should protect the other one.

And Jae's concern for Dowoon was only an addition, even if they had only seen each other _once_. The blonde liked to hear stories from the child and was deeply worried when Sungjin told him that his son had caught a cold. _He's better now, don't worry_ , had been the dark-haired's words as soon as Jae arrived that same morning. After a whole week, Dowoon's cold had finally disappeared.

And Sungjin was grateful towards his friend Junghwan for taking care of his son when he had to work... as well as, of course, his dear, dear friend Jaebeom, who worked as a dance teacher in some entertainment company and who had looked after Dowoon sometimes too. 

"I'm not abandoning _you_. I still have to discuss some parts of the contract with my future boss. Besides, he said he would let me work here too, but..."

"It'd be too much work, I know," Sungjin finished for him. He sighed. "Hyung, give it a try. If it doesn't work, you're friends with the _CEO himself_ and I always have a place for you." 

"I can't believe that I've met someone like you." Sungjin grinned and Jae looked away, embarrassed. It was rare that he let something like that slip out of his mouth. 

"People meet when they have to and say goodbye when they have to. As for now, I believe that we won't say bye in a long time. By the way, you working in Daydream doesn't mean that you will get discounts here. And I expect you to pass by from time to time... You are more than welcome here, even as a customer." 

"I'm going to work in a company, not going to _war_. Drop the drama, Sungjin." The dark-haired raised his hands with a diverted face. He was going to reply something when Jae's phone rang. The blonde looked who was calling: Wonpil. "If you excuse, my dear CEO friend is calling." Jae observed Sungjin's smile becoming bigger and he grinned.

"Why are you staring at me? Just answer the phone." 

"Just contemplating your _smile_ after hearing _Wonpil_ , Sungjinie. Something you want to tell me?" The owner of Pandora shook his head embarrassed, so Jae took some steps away, laughing, and answered Wonpil's call.

"Finally! What took you so long?" Jaehyung rolled his eyes when he heard the younger's demanding tone. 

"Just teasing your lovie." He made sure that Sungjin didn't hear him before saying that. He heard Wonpil coughing as if he had choked with something. "You're okay there?"

"Yes, yes. Fine."

"What did you want?"

"Just wanna remind you that we're going shopping this afternoon!"

_Ah, right. Damn. I had forgotten already._

Because yes, after Jaehyung had got home and Wonpil finished his work, the brunette had found out that his blonde friend was going to accept (99% sure) the offer from Younghyun. Wonpil was _beyond_ excited: he had planned since Jae got to Seoul to somehow hire him, give him a job which suited him and, in case the older one needed something, he would be close enough to rush to him and help him. However, using his CEO powers was too much and, well, it came quite handy that Younghyun was looking for an interpreter to hire.

And this is why Younghyun had quite the fear of Wonpil's luck, determination and mind: somehow destiny helped the brunette with his schemes in 90% of the occasions. 

Afterwards, Wonpil had decided to go shopping the next day for three reasons: first, to get some new clothes for the winter, both for Jae and him; second, to buy the older one some suits because his company was _refined and formal, hyung, you can't go with hoodies_ ; third, to find some clothes for Jaehyung because they were going to a wedding.

Yes, a wedding. Well, not really to the ceremony, but yeah. Some party. People. Interaction. Socialising.

Two introverts going to a party. _Doesn't sound fun._

"Don't you try to _sneak out_ of this, hyung. You promised me to do it."

"Yes, yes. I don't break my promises, we both know it." _Unlike others._ The blonde sighed and watched Sana coming in the shop. "Sana arrived, we're about to open now. See you later." Jae separated his phone from his ear a little to hang up while Sungjin was passing by to greet Sana.

"Okay! Love you, hyung!" was heard loudly before the call ended.

Jaehyung felt Sungjin's stare on him for a second before saying _hi_ to the girl, who went for her nametag. He coughed. _He may take it the wrong way. I'm quite sure that I'm seeing things here._ Therefore, he approached the other man as the owner turned the sign on the door to 'open'.

"Ready for your last day, Jaehyung?" The owner shot him a short look before walking to his usual place. The American sighed and just decided to let it be. Perhaps he was the only one who thought that those words could result in a misunderstanding.

He heard the doorbell ring and turned around with his usual smile for work.

*******************************

"Just what in the name of God is this."

Jae was staring at some... stripped... strange... weird... yellow and black... jumper... which Wonpil was holding looking as proud as ever. Inside, the brunette was having a hard time trying to keep a calm face in front of the other one, whose expression portrayed the utmost disgust towards the jumper. 

"It's a jumper."

"Do you believe that I'm a _fucking_ bee or what?" Wonpil couldn't help himself and let out a laugh. He _loved_ Jae's sarcastic tone, after all. "Gosh, I sometimes wonder if your fashion sense exists."

"At least I wear more than plain hoodies, hyung." The blonde shot him an offended stare.

"Well, your dear lovie _also_ uses hoodies, doesn't he?" Wonpil cleared his throat and remained quiet after that for some minutes.

Jae sighed as he sat for a second with the bags. _Why is that every time that I go shopping by Wonpil's command it ends up with me having way too many bags for my arms sake? One of the biggest mysteries in the world._ They had been for two hours going up and down several floors in the shopping mall and the brunette wasn't satisfied yet. He wanted more clothes for his hyung, while _hyung_ just wanted to _go home_.

He still had half the contract to revise part by part, section by section, word by word (and, yes, that included the _small print_ too). If there was something he wasn't satisfied with or had any doubts, Younghyun had told him by email that he was open to answering any questions through typing... or to arrange a meeting for the two alone.

Jae was scared to be alone with the dark-haired, though. Not because he didn't trust him (the guy had only done good to him and, well, he seemed nice and all). He didn't trust whatever was going inside his head and his chest when he was in front of the other one. He didn't like it _at all_. He was _healing_. He wasn't supposed to be _j_ _umping to another person who would break him into pieces_. 

The American had noticed how much he felt at ease with his soon-to-be-boss. He would accept being friends, nothing more. Yes, he knew that the other one had quite a bright personality and he liked his humour and all. And perhaps he found him attractive. And maybe his heart had skipped once or twice, but nothing more. That didn't _mean_ anything.

"Hyung, we're ready to go. Let me pay for all of these." Wonpil grabbed some clothes from the shop from Jae's lap and went to the cashier. Jae watched from afar how easily the brunette smiled to others. _Quite the charming guy... If I didn't know how much he hates socialising, I would be fooled by him too_. 

Afterwards, the younger one returned with another bag and, even if Jaehyung begged to go home, the other one refused. And when the American asked _why, Pil, we have too many clothes already!_ , the younger one chuckled and answered something like _because I want to go and see if they have the album of a singer_. Jae let out a sigh and followed the hyper Wonpil with a soft smile. 

And yes, he was the one carrying _all_.

"You, CEO! Come here and take a part of this!" He shouted to his friend, who turned around and laughed. 

"Ah, right, I'm sor-"

"Uncle Jae?"

The blonde felt a shiver going down his spine before turning around and looking for a certain dwar- child. He smiled fondly towards the small Dowoon, who was wearing some cute, dark coat with the silhouette of Mickey the Mouse. _So cut- WAIT. DOWOON._ The blonde let down the bags as a reflex when he saw the smaller one smiling mischievously.

_From bags to a small child, perfect._

"Hello there, Dowoonie." The American smiled at the dark-haired in his arms. He could _sense_ Wonpil's stare on him and almost shivered. _Just how the fuck do I explain all of this?_ "Hm... Where's Daddy?"

"Daddy's working!" The smaller laughed. "I'm with uncle Junghwan." _Who?_

"Yoon Dowoon! What have I told you about running away?!" 

Jae saw a man approaching them. The man had light, brown hair. His bangs almost hid his dark eyes with some bags under, probably because he didn't get enough sleep. He was wearing some striped turtleneck under his grey, long coat. Everything in him screamed _fashion_ , but what his face yelled was _who the fuck are you_. And Jae could understand it, like, the child he was looking after was in the arms of a _stranger_.

_So this is the famous Junghwan?_

"I'm sorry, uncle... I just saw uncle Jae and had to say hello." _Oh, what a nice faked innocent tone there, buddy. You have a future as an actor. Or as a scammer._ Junghwan sighed and crossed his arms. "Are you mad, uncle?"

"Of course I am. I've told several times not to run away. What would I tell your Daddy if something happened to you? And how should I feel if you get hurt?" Dowoon stared at the other one with an apologetic look. "Don't you _dare_ look at me like that. We'll continue this _later_ , Woonie." The brown-haired raised his hand towards Jae. "Lee Junghwan. I've heard from this troublemaker's daddy a lot about you, Jae."

"I can't say the same." The blonde shook the other's hand how he could with a child in his arms. _Help me_. He noticed that Junghwan was looking over his shoulder. _Ah, right._ He stepped back and turned his head towards Wonpil, who was extremely silent. "This man here is my friend. His name is Kim Wonpil."

"Kim Wonpil," Junghwan repeated with a serious look and then smiled at the brunette, who felt _analysed_. "Nice to meet you." He shook hands with the brunette, who nodded and replied with the same sentence. 

"You are Wonpil?" The three men stared at the young child. Jae panicked inside. _Please, tell me that he won't say anything about his daddy yet._ Wonpil nodded slowly without taking his eyes from the child. "Uncle Jae, let me down."

Jaehyung dropped the child on the floor. The three adults watched Dowoon fixing his coat and hair and then approaching Wonpil. The brunette crouched after Dowoon did a sign to come closer. Then he observed Dowoon bowing 90 degrees and raising his head with a smile.

"My name is Yoon Dowoon. Do you want to be my friend, mister Wonpil?"

The other two men watched Wonpil's reaction.

_Stop staring, I'm dying from cuteness._

If there was something in this world that the CEO loved, it was children. He _loved_ to play with her nephew and her niece. He had a soft spot for children, maybe because he wanted some of his own, whether they were adopted or not. He found all children cute, and Dowoon wasn't an exception.

He still wanted to know how and why Jaehyung knew a child when he had been for a short time in Seoul. Besides, it wasn't the usual thing he would expect from his hyung, to go out of his way and befriend a random child. He wondered who _Daddy_ was. He felt Dowoon's bright eyes on him and smiled tenderly.

"Of course I will be your friend, Dowoonie." The child clapped his hands happily and hugged Wonpil suddenly. The brunette hugged him back, still smiling. He could feel a familiar scent from the child, but he couldn't identify it. _Perhaps he uses some shampoo I know_.

Some meters away, both Jae and Junghwan were excited with the scene. After all, they both knew who Dowoon's dad was. Just some whispers with Junghwan while the whole Wonpil-Dowoon interaction let the American know that yes, the... nanny... knew _who_ Wonpil was. 

And how important he was to Sungjin since he sometimes spoke about Wonpil with him. Perhaps Dowoon had overheard once or twice and felt familiar with Wonpil thanks to that. 

_How do I react to my best friend hugging his crush's child without knowing it?_

Dowoon let Wonpil go with a smile and grabbed the brunette's hand. "Let's go and play! I know a park near."

"Dowoon, they may be busy..." Junghwan said while taking some steps towards them. The child let Wonpil's hand go, sad.

"Don't look so sad. Maybe we'll meet another day, okay? Be a kind, healthy boy until then, Dowoonie. Promise." Dowoon and Wonpil made the pinky promise.

_I like uncle Wonpil. Daddy always talks about him with uncle Junghwan and uncle Jaebeom. Daddy told them that he was special. I like him._ The dark-haired child smiled and nodded to himself, ignored by the three men saying goodbye for the day.

"Please, tell me that we're going home", the American begged. He gained a nod from Wonpil, who was walking to the entrance of the shopping mall already, deep in thought. 

Something in Dowoon seemed familiar. And he still wanted to know about Jae's relationship with the child.

"Kim Wonpil! The _fucking_ bags!"

Ah, the bags.

***************************

_I'm starting to regret any life choice I've made until now._

"Just come in, hyung."

Jae followed the brunette's figure into the building. It was already Saturday evening and they had gone to that building specifically made for ceremonies for the wedding thing. On the way there, Wonpil had told him about his friend and non-stop complimented him for his looks and for _leaving those fake glasses finally, hyung_.

The American wanted to check himself again on a mirror. He didn't feel comfortable wearing that light grey suit with a black shirt under... and no glasses. Besides, Wonpil had had the _brilliant_ idea of the two wearing some chokers because _they suit us both and we look hot with them, hyung_. It had been a while since Jae wore such an accessory on... Months, perhaps a year, because _he_ didn't like them.

_But he isn't anymore in your life, Jaehyung. We promised to leave the past behind._

The American watched Wonpil greeting many guests once they got into the hall. He felt anxious when he saw _how many people_ there were there. Too many for him. He could feel the need for hugging himself and just turn into a ball somewhere, but he tried to overcome it. He concentrated in breathing correctly, all under Wonpil's concerned stare. 

When the brunette was going to ask something, someone called his name. Jaehyung watched a man about the age of Wonpil, black hair and white suit which suited him. He had some characteristic eyes and smile. _Pictures don't really catch all his beauty_. Jaehyung became nervous: he was in front of the famous actor Park Jinyoung. He then felt the stare of both men, his friend and the actor, on him. 

"Nice to meet you finally, Jaehyung. Wonpil speaks a lot of you." _Yeah, so I've heard several times already._ He shook hands with the actor. _Should I sell my own hand on eBay?_ "So? Liking the place already?"

"You know that I wouldn't have come and invited my friend if the one getting married wasn't you." Jae almost dropped his jaw. _HE'S GETTING MARRIED?_ Wonpil laughed. When he was going to answer, a man back hugged Jinyoung with a soft smile. _Oh- Oh._ Jae analysed quickly the situation.

"Hello, Wonpil," the new man greeted the brunette with a smile. "I see that Jinyoungie already welcomed you to our party. It's sad that you won't be able to come to the actual wedding..."

"I have to stay in Seoul always... I wish I could go and see you two marrying." _Ah... Right, same-gender marriage is still illegal here. Oh, damn_. "This blonde guy is my friend Park Jaehyung."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Im Jaebeom." Jae nodded. There were too many men for him. He was uncomfortable. Beyond that.

He wanted to run.

He pulled Wonpil's brown suit's right sleeve subtly as a sign of help. The younger quickly caught up and told the couple that they were going to get something to eat. He wanted to avoid his hyung getting _anxious_. _Perhaps it wasn't the best idea, but... I know someone who's gonna come surely._

"So mister actor Park Jinyoung is gay?"

"More like bi, but yes. Let's sit here." Wonpil grabbed a seat and pointed to the other chair. Now that they had a table for themselves, Jaehyung felt himself calming down.

And of course, they played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would go to get food first. And of course, Wonpil's luck helped. The brunette stuck out his tongue playfully and went to the buffet section, leaving an awkward Jaehyung alone. 

The blonde looked around. He found sometimes interesting to just observe people and try to understand how their minds worked. However, he was only trying to dodge any thoughts which could appear inside his mind. He asked himself how long Wonpil would take just to grab some stuff to eat, it wasn't like he was going to feed a whole family.

_Family_.

And with that word, his mind went back to the previous afternoon, when they had met Dowoon. The American groaned and hid his face with his hands. _I'm gonna get a headache._ He hated when they got back home and Wonpil asked him about who that child was and Jaehyung could only say _I_ _met him while buying some groceries for you_. It wasn't a lie, but he still wanted to tell the whole truth.

Only that he needed Sungjin's permission to do so, which he didn't have at all. _This sucks so much, I hate secrets... Yet I still keep my own. Award for the hypocrite of the year._ He sighed, moving his hands to his lap and staring them, thinking what was taking Wonpil so _long_. 

He felt a buzz in his pocket and took out his phone. He had a new notification from Twitter, from his official account as a professional translator, a new one he had made weeks after _that_ happened. When he saw who the user was, he immediately _blocked them_. He threw the phone on the table and tried to keep his hands from shaking too much. _How and why the hell did he find my new account? Why can't I move on calmly?_

"Hm... Jaehyung?"

Jae raised his head. Without noticing, he had been staring at his lap, hands on his ears, trying to keep away all the bad thoughts. _Only one notification gets me like this, I guess that therapy is still very much needed_. His eyes recognised Younghyun's familiar figure at the other side of the table, with his hands up and a soft smile on his face.

_ Younghyun...? _

He was wearing some white shirt and dark trousers with a dark jacket. The blonde noticed a pair of earrings on his right earlobe, as well as a bracelet on his left wrist, next to a watch. His hair was down, not like when it was combed, as usual, in a way which exposed his forehead. Jae found those bangs cute. 

"Breathe in, breathe out, Jaehyung." Jae followed his words feeling some sort of _dèjá vú_. _Ah... It's the third time that he's seen me like this already. I'm a disaster._ "Calmer? Can I come closer?" Jae nodded several times and Younghyun gulped while staring at the choker.

_Not the time to think that, young man. He may look too hot with that, but he was having an attack right in front of you._

The dark-haired grabbed Wonpil's abandoned chair and sat next to Jaehyung. He was still smiling, trying to calm down the other one. The Korean had noticed Jae's figure while going to get some food for himself; he had been invited by one of the spouses, Im Jaebeom, who he knew from college. _One of the few guys I still care about from that time, yeap._

And perhaps he had rushed when he saw the other one looking at his phone with panic all over his face and then throwing it. It wasn't the first time he had seen Jaehyung like that: he could recall that time in Pandora and also in the car... _What kind of past have you had, Jaehyung? Makes sense that Wonpil doesn't want to tell me anything, because seeing you like this... It hurts_.

"Thank you," the American mumbled visibly embarrassed. Younghyun didn't want to go back to square one with him when they wouldn't speak freely, so he just said whatever first crossed his mind:

"This is what friends do, don't they?" Jae looked at him and they locked eyes. The dark-haired could see several emotions in the other one's pupils and the way that Jaehyung was thinking _a lot_. 

"We are friends," the blonde confirmed. Then he gave Younghyun a _deadly_ smile. "Thank you, Younghyun."

"Y-you're welcome," the other one stuttered. He could feel his heart beating faster. He gazed towards Jae's phone, still left on the table. He wouldn't ask anything about it, so he chose another topic. "So? Are you here alone?"

"Wonpil invited me here because Jinyoung is his friend," the blonde started while playing with his hands. Younghyun looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "But he has left me here alone to get some food. I believe that he must have gone to hunt it or something because he's taking too long." He laughed and Younghyun joined him.

"Maybe he is... Before you ask me, I'm a friend of Jaebeom, that's why I'm here. And I'm glad I am," he added while smirking. Jae gulped but didn't look away. "It's nice seeing you without your glasses, Jaehyung. Even if they suit you, you're fine without them."

"And you're more than okay with your hair down," Jae mumbled. He knew that the other had heard him because the smirk got bigger. "Don't get used to this, I don't really compliment people."

"So I've noticed, you've called me an idiot twice in our emails." Younghyun showed two fingers while raising an eyebrow.

"Because you _are_ an idiot, Younghyun. Who burns ramen?" He scuffed.

"Well, I was attending an important meeting online! I told you!" The American chuckled. "You're just messing with me too much." _In too many ways, Jae. In too many ways._ "Speaking about meetings..."

"Yes, I've read the whole contract already," Jaehyung interrupted him and rolled his eyes. "I was going to email you tomorrow about it. I don't see anything weird, and I've literally read even the small print." He winked playfully and was pleased by his companion's laugh. 

"Okay, then you start on Monday. I expect you in my office at 7 am, mister Park. Don't be late." Younghyun sighed and rested his head on the table, somewhat sleepy, and closed his eyes.

"Tired?"

"Busy week as always. You'll be part of this world soon again." He opened his eyes slightly and caught Jae's hand almost touching his hair. The blonde stopped mid-air. 

"I-I was going to fix it because y-you're destroying your own hairstyle..." Younghyun continued grinning and watched, amused, Jae's cheeks slightly redder. _I do affect him, huh. Or maybe he's just shy. Or maybe we shouldn't be thinking about this... But whatever takes his attention away from his phone is worth it._

"Go on. You have my permission." He closed his eyes and felt Jae fixing his hair smoothly, almost as if he didn't want to annoy the owner. He was also humming a song.

_And he affects me, but he doesn't know how much. And I'm afraid to know too._

"Done." He heard the blonde's voice and opened his eyes. "Huh... Do you bother if I go to get something to eat?"

"Not at all. I'll wait here. If you need anything... you have my email and, well, my phone number on the card I gave you." Jae nodded and stood up while grabbing his phone. He went towards the buffet space, but then stopped halfway and typed something on his phone before continuing his journey. 

The dark-haired felt his phone buzzing and took it out. He had a new notification, a message from an unknown number. His heart raced while he read the message.

**Unknown number**

_Saved your number long ago, now have mine_

Younghyun almost squealed like a teenager and waited for Jaehyung with the biggest smile in the world.

  
  
  


_**But where is Wonpil?** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter written since weeks ago, so I only had to copy it here and upload it... Sadly, I don't have so much time to revise and write anymore, so, hopefully, I'll be able to upload from time to time! Have a nice day ^^


	13. ... and the worst? outcome of the same wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonpil is sad since Saturday and doesn't want to go to Pandora.

The brunette sighed while staring at the red light. He gripped tighter the steering wheel. He was exhausted after going again to work. It was Thursday. He usually waited for Thursdays to come. He _loved_ Thursdays: he would go to Pandora, speak with his favourite person in the world, laugh with him... He still had to give back the coat the other one had lent him. Wonpil had never brought up that item in their conversations since that blissful Sunday, and Sungjin didn't seem like he was interested in getting back.

Perhaps he wanted Wonpil to keep it for some reason. And whatever the reason was, Wonpil's heart ached while thinking of his 'lovie', like Jae used to call it since he knew about the brunette's crush. Wonpil closed his eyes, sighing again. _Isn't it time to give up finally? He already has someone, doesn't he?_

Because he had seen _that_. On Saturday.

************************

[Saturday]

Wonpil went chuckling to get some food. He was a little worried about his hyung, but he would only take some minutes. The brunette was going to grab a dish where he would put the food on when his phone rang. Someone was calling him. 

His whole good mood disappeared when he saw the one calling. 

He rushed outside, to the garden of the building for ceremonies. It was still ringing, so he took the call. He knew that he was going to hate whatever she was going to tell her. However, he still loved her, as much as you can love the person who raised you, loved you and, suddenly, changed when your father died and became so obsessed with your life.

"Good evening, mum," he greeted the woman on the other side of the call. He could feel himself sweating.

"Wonpil." _At least she sounds quite happy._ "How have you been?"

"We talked two days ago, mum. I've been fine since then."

"How is your friend doing? You have to let me meet him. I want to know what kind of people you befriend, my son." _Like hell I will let you. You just want to know if I'm having something with him, don't you?_ "Park Jaehyung, right? I've read about him online. He's quite handsome and seems a funny person."

"He's more than a funny person, mum. Drop the small talk... Why did you call me?" He heard the woman sigh.

"Wonpil, you know that I care for you right? You're growing older and older and your mother only wants to see you settling down with someone, but you won't tell me about any flings you have... That's why I have someone who wants to meet you." _Not again_.

"Is that someone a woman, mum?" He only got silence. "Mother, I..."

"Listen. I know that you like men. But just give it a try. For me. You know your mother wants grandchildren." He could feel himself getting angrier.

"Excuse me, mother. If I decide to have children or not, it doesn't depend on your _wish_. If I decide to adopt them or have them with a partner, it doesn't depend on _you_. I've told you several times: some men can get pregnant out there, you should not disrespect them. Anyway, I'm currently at a party from a friend, do you need anything more? Or are we going to continue disagreeing?"

"No. You made your point clear. Are you going to meet her?" _She's so fucking stubborn_.

"Send me the contact number. I'll message her tomorrow. _I_ will be the one arranging the meeting, not you." He heard her mother clapping her hands and seconds later she hung up.

_Finally, silence._ He leaned against a near wall and observed the garden. It was a precious place, made for outdoor ceremonies. He smiled while thinking about how it would feel to marry someone you love, to know that your lives are tied to each other, that maybe you'll have a bigger family in the future. He gripped tightly his phone in his right hand and looked at the starry sky.

He thought about Jaehyung. Probably the blonde was panicking, waiting for the brunette to go back. Perhaps he had found someone to be with. For example, Younghyun: Wonpil knew that Jaebum and he knew each other and that the dark-haired was going to attend the place. He wanted Jae to feel more comfortable with his new boss, especially because he wanted to invite both sometimes to his office and, well, because he wanted all his friends to get along.

He heard the people inside partying for Jinyoung and Jaebum. He wanted to live something similar. He already had someone in mind for it. The brunette smiled at the thought of Sungjin. He could feel his heart pounding. _I'm so doomed, really..._ He hid his face with his hands. 

Lately, Sungjin had been so _intimate_ with him. Wonpil felt like he was flying. Maybe his luck was finally helping him with the owner of Pandora. Maybe his charms were finally working. He wanted to squeal, excited. However, there were important matters for Wonpil that he still needed to discuss with Sungjin.

For example, if Sungjin had ever desired to have children. Because Wonpil desired to be a father one day (and not because her mother wished so). And if Sungjin was anti-children... Maybe he should think twice where he was trying to get into. _Not me here making plans with a guy I don't know if he likes me or not, lol_. 

However, the CEO had the feeling, the certainty, that the owner of Pandora would be a good father. He had observed him sometimes in the coffee shop: he took care of everyone silently, both customers and workers, doing actions which helped others without being asked to do them. He wasn't the type to order around, but Wonpil could imagine Sungjin scolding his own children, being strict but a softie. 

The whole thought made him smile even more. _I wish I will get to see that one day_. 

While he imagined that, he noticed someone running some meters away. It seemed like a small boy. He was being chased by another man. Thanks to the darkness, Wonpil couldn't really discern those people and if he knew them. _I believe that Jinyoung told that he didn't want to invite children to the party, so maybe they're from another party here. This building is huge_. 

He laughed as he watched the whole scene: the child was avoiding the other man, who was probably exasperated after running after the small one. Then his heart skipped a beat when he noticed another figure approaching. He could recognize that body figure wherever he went, between any crowd. He could recognize that laugh wherever he went.

His heart was sure that the new man was Sungjin.

He watched the child running to Sungjin's arms, who held him tightly. He saw the other man approaching and hugging Sungjin too and then whispering something on the other one's ear. Wonpil felt as if he couldn't breathe. _Let's not jump into conclusions, shall we? Let's not-._

Then the child screamed something.

"Daddy!" And hugged Sungjin tightly.

And Wonpil's world broke down. He sent a message to Jae and went back home without looking again at the scene.

****************************

The red light changed to a green one and Wonpil continued his drive back home. The day had been too long. The previous days had been too long: he didn't feel like going out on Sunday and he knew that he had worried Jaehyung. He gave himself a day off on Monday too, even if he wanted to be there when Jae started his work in Daydream. 

He couldn't force himself to focus at all and he guessed that he needed some rest to calm down his mind. He was the first one who said that people shouldn't go to work if they were going to do pure garbage and just mess up. 

Perhaps being alone at home that day hadn't been the best idea: after Jae finished his working hours, he had to go to his therapist. Wonpil had told him not to call off the session due to him. Besides, the brunette wanted to be alone because he needed to cry his heart out, both for his broken heart and, well... because it was another year since Wonpil's father passed away. 

He missed him a lot at times like this. His father was the first one who knew about Wonpil's exclusive attraction towards his same gender. The brunette didn't tell him... He didn't need to. The day he was heartbroken during high school, his father hugged and told him that _that boy, son, doesn't deserve your angelical smile... Wanna get some ddeokbeokki?_ Since then, Wonpil had gone to his father whenever something troubled him. And that moment was one of those.

Yes, perhaps he had jumped to conclusions. However, he knew what he saw: Sungjin had a child with someone and he didn't even know it. Wonpil was upset: why didn't the owner of Pandora tell him? Maybe it was something which he only let close people know, people he trusted in.

_Maybe I'm not in that circle, huh._

He had spent his whole Monday watching some movies in an attempt to brighten his own mood. He had failed at first, but then he made his mind on everything: he needed to avoid Sungjin for some days. Then he would go back and they would be friends as always. Maybe he had spent three years liking the same dude, but that wasn't the end of the world: there were many men out there, he could have his love story with another person. _Only that that person won't be Sungjin_ , he thought while a tear fell from one of his eyes.

_So I needed to see a proof of him with another person to acknowledge that I don't have a crush on him. I like him. I love him. Clown._ And Tuesday and Wednesday didn't feel any better, but at least he got his head on his work and tried to avoid his thoughts about it. 

Anyway, in the 'present' Wonpil turned right and got into the parking from the building where he lived. He stayed inside the car for some minutes. He looked at his watch: usually, he would be in Pandora already, smiling with the dark-haired while taking a coffee with too much milk and too much sugar to be considered a coffee. He let out a small laugh and got out of the car. 

_He lived rent-free in my mind, now he won't. Easier said than done, though_.

Once he got home, he felt Jae's stare from the sofa. The brunette went straight to his room while he heard Jae whispering to someone on the phone. Wonpil could guess who that person was: the blonde had no friends left from the USA and the only people he knew in Seoul were he, Sungjin and Younghyun. And, well, Junghwan and that child Dowoon. Anyway, Jae had told him on Sunday how much fun was to spend time with his new boss at the party, when he had left to _hunt food, Wonpil, did you go to a farm or...? Why did you leave me there with just a message? Wait, why are you crying?_. 

Wonpil changed to his pyjama. He looked at himself with the phone and practised his smile. He was used to it, after all: just give people smiled and they'll think that you're fine, that you have everything under control. The brunette had practised through his whole life to smile even when he wasn't happy at all. He could try to deceive Jaehyung too. _Maybe I can. He will ask though._

  
  
  


While Wonpil was changing, Jae bit his lip, nervous. He knew that the brunette used to spend his time during that hour in Pandora, what the hell was he doing back home? Why did he look so gloomy? And why was it the second time it happened already?

"Hyung?" He heard Younghyun's voice. He felt joy after hearing Younghyun calling _hyung_ : the dark-haired had asked him if he could during the party and, well, Jae felt that they were close enough for that. _Not in working hours, of course_. "Was that the door?"

"Yeap. Wonpil just came back." Jae lowered his voice. "It's so weird, he should be at Pandora right now."

"I know... That's strange. Perhaps something happened with Sungjin that we don't know?" Younghyun's sharp mind started to try to discover the mystery. "On Monday Wonpil took the day off, right? I heard so from Bambam when I went to visit him in his office. The Thai said that Wonpil had called and notified that he was sick. Today I saw him in a corridor and he _did_ look _bad_ , just as he did on Tuesday and, well, yesterday... And he also didn't go on Tuesday to Pandora, no?"

"Yes... About Monday, he told me that he didn't feel well. On Sunday too, he seemed down. And these past days he comes back and just goes into his room. But he was fine before the party before he went to get food..." The blonde heard Wonpil's room door being opened. "Gotta leave you, Younghyun. I need to-"

"I know. Tell me whatever he tells you. He's my friend too, you know. Have a nice evening and night, Jaehyung hyung... Sweet dreams." And with that, the dark-haired hang up.

Jae smiled like an idiot for some seconds before realising it and changing to a poker face. He couldn't have guessed that giving his phone number to Younghyun would result in them messaging each other, even less in a phone call just because Jae was _bored_ and wanted to talk to someone. He saw Wonpil sitting on another sofa.

"Pil? Are you okay?" The brunette nodded with a smile. The blonde noticed how the other's lips were trembling. "Pil, you can't fool me, you know? I see your lips trembling and I've seen you all gloomy these past days..." Wonpil stared at him in silence. "Wonpil?"

"I..." The brunette suddenly started to drop tears again. "No, I'm not. Can you hug me?"

And Jae approached him and hugged him tightly. _I knew something was wrong... Poor boy._ "What has you like this?"

"I saw Sungjin on Saturday." Jae blinked twice. _Sungjin was there? I didn't see him..._ "I went out to answer a call from my mother, not wanna go in details of that because it's not worth it. Then I saw a child and a man playing." Jaehyung tensed up. "And afterwards the child ran to another man's arms and call him something like _Daddy_ and I swear, hyung, I _fucking swear_ that that person was Sungjin. I could recognise him from a mile away."

"So...?"

"So I guess that it took that to realise that I _love_ him a lot and that he probably has someone already. Or that he doesn't trust me enough. Or I don't know anymore. I know, _I know_ , that I'm jumping into conclusions, that I'm going too ahead and all but hyung... My heart just hurts. It just hurts."

*******************************

"Boss? Are you okay?"

Sungjin gazed from the clock to Seungmin, who was shotting him a concerned look. He nodded slowly and the employee went on with some orders, the last ones before they had to close finally. _Of course I'm fine... Why isn't Wonpil coming? Maybe he's busy. But I have a bad feeling about this. He didn't come on Tuesday too_.*

He had been waiting to see Wonpil since the last time they saw each other. Especially, since he got back from work on Friday and Junghwan told him that they had met Wonpil with Jaehyung. He had internally panicked in front of his best friend and asked several questions ( _what did you tell him? Did you Jaehyung say something about me? Did Dowoon behave? Tell me he behaved_ ). He was _beyond_ surprised when the one who answered hadn't been his friend, but his son.

"Daddy! I met mister Wonpil! He hugged me and said he would be my friend~" Sungjin's eyes had almost popped out while his son laughed. "He's really cute, I like him." Then the child had taken off his coat alone and had gone to play in his room, leaving both adults there.

"Is that...?"

"True? Yeap. Wonpil seemed to be _in love_ with Dowoon, Sungjin." Junghwan had smirked. "Aren't that good news? Now you know that he won't say no when you ask him out." Sungjin had almost choked with his own saliva while his friend chuckled.

"It's not funny." He had felt his cheeks getting redder.

After all, the dark-haired was planning to do it at some point. Or at least tell the brunette that he, maybe, perhaps, it could be the case that... _he liked him_. There, there it was. He admitted it. However, something Sungjin had learnt was that raising a child took time and responsibility; if his significant other couldn't be committed to being part of Dowoon's life as well, he wouldn't give it a second thought and end the relationship. 

Dowoon was an important part of his life. His world. His universe. He had him in mind every time he took a decision. And that included going out with someone.

Therefore, Sungjin had been waiting since Friday for Tuesday to arrive. He wanted to invite Wonpil to eat somewhere someday, or to watch a movie, or to go on a walk... Whatever the idea of a _date_ for both could be. He also wondered if he was the only one who had feelings between the two of them, but he was _so sure_ that Wonpil had reddened more than once thanks to him.

He wanted to believe that something was going between the two of them. He had even thought about Wonpil when he went to his friend's Jaebeom wedding celebration. He hadn't expected Junghwan to bring Dowoon because the child wanted to see Daddy too much, but while holding the child, he thought about the brunette who lived rent-free in his mind.

_Since when have I become like this? I promised myself to be careful after what happened with her..._

However, Wonpil didn't go that day. Nor the next one, like he usually did when he couldn't go and was sorry because _work sometimes keeps me busy, Sungjin, but here I am again!_. And it was Thursday and he didn't know anything from his crush yet. Not even Jae's visit at lunchtime had made the uneasiness go away, although he loved to hear how happy the blonde was.

The owner of Pandora stared again at the clock. _So he's really not going to come... But I want to ask him. I want. Perhaps I should ask Jaehyung for his phone number?_ He chuckled. _I can't believe we don't have each other's numbers yet..._

"Ryujin, take my place for a second. I have to check something."

"Of course, boss!" The girl cheerfully took Sungjin's place while he went to the storage.

_I know this might be a stupid idea, but I have to try._ Sungjin sent a message to Jae. The blonde had given him his number that same morning because they needed to be _in contact, Sungjinie, it's a must!_. He waited for some seconds which felt like hours... And the American didn't even read the message. _Perhaps he's away from his phone now? Should I try calling him?_

Without giving it a second thought he pressed the call bottom. _This is the first time I'm doing something so sudden, but I can't wait for some reason._

  
  
  


Both Jae and Wonpil jumped when the American's ringtone sounded extremely loud. Jae grabbed it just in case it was something important, only to see that Sungjin was calling him. _Just who we are talking about, great._ He made Wonpil a signal to be quiet.

"Who is it? Hyunie hyung?" Wonpil had stopped crying but was hugging himself after telling his hyung everything he had saved in his chest for years, how he felt, how much he wanted Sungjin to look at him, how much he feared to go and mess up because he was upset all alone.

"N-no... Pil, really, keep quiet, okay?" Wonpil nodded and followed his hyung's orders. Jae sighed and took the call. "Hello? Sungjin?"

"What the hell?" The brunette whispered and shot a surprised look to his hyung, who put a finger on his lips. _Shut the fuck up_. "What are you doing?" Jae glared at him and nodded to whatever Sungjin was saying. Then he put the phone on hands-free mode.

"Could you please repeat, Sungjin?"

"Oh? Of course." Wonpil shivered as he heard his voice. "So... I was asking if you knew something about Wonpil." _My name sounds so good_. "Like... He usually comes on Tuesday and Thursday and he hasn't come and I... am worried."

"Oh, he's been doing quite bad lately." Jae dodged a pillow and stood up. "Perhaps I could give you his phone number?" He turned at Wonpil, who was shaking his head. "Like, he won't get mad because you're concerned for him and all."

"I would prefer it if he was the one who gave it to me. You know, it would mean that he wants to message me and I'm against people sending other people's contacts without asking first." The brunette smiled softly from the sofa. Jae smirked. "Is he at home at least?"

"He is. Do you want me to pass him the phone?" The younger one almost squealed. There was silence on the other side of the phone. Each second made Wonpil's heart beat faster. "Sungjin?"

"If he wants to, yes. I miss him." He could hear Sungjin's embarrassment. Jae felt like he was stepping over some boundaries and let out a small laugh. "Don't tease me."

"I won't... Let me ask him. One second." Jae walked to Wonpil and pointed to the phone. The brunette gasped loudly and grabbed it.

"Hm... Sungjin?" 

  
  


Sungjin almost coughed. He wasn't really expecting Wonpil to accept.

"Hello, Wonpil. How are you?"

"I'm so-so... Things happened." He kept the phone near his ear so Jae wouldn't butt in. The American rolled his eyes. _This is how he repays my kindness? What an ungrateful child._

"Don't want to sound insensitive, but... are you down for your father's anniversary?" _He remembers it?_ "Because I'm sure that he's proud of you, Wonpil. I would be too..." _In fact, I am_ , Sungjin wanted to add.

"It's fine... It was on Monday. Thank you, hyung. I mean, Sungjin-ssi," the brunette quickly corrected himself and heard Sungjin's deep laugh. 

"You can call me hyung already, Wonpil-ah. Anyway, I actually want to speak with you about something, but it can wait until you feel better." 

"Give me your number." The three men (because Jae was still eavesdropping) were startled by Wonpil's sudden order.

"What? All of sudden?" Sungjin smirked and leaned against a wall. He listened to Wonpil's nervous giggle. "Are you planning hitting on me by message?"

"Just give it to me so we can talk later, hyung." The dark-haired let out a laugh. _I really like him._

"Gotta go to work, note it down from Jae's phone, okay? Let me know when you have it. We can talk later after I close Pandora." His voice lowered until it was almost like a whisper. Wonpil felt as if he was speaking right next to his ear.

"Okay... Text you later." Wonpil hung up and sent to his phone Sungjin's number. Then he handed it back to Jae with a huge smile.

"So? Are you going out already?" He avoided another pillow with a mischievous grin. Wonpil sighed and then smiled brightly, with his cheeks red. Jae's heart melted. _I would do anything to see you this happy always, my friend._

"We will talk later... I'm nervous. But it will go fine, right?" The American shot him the softest stare possible as he saw the hope in the brunette's eyes. Then he patted the younger's head.

"Some people deserve to live an epic love story, Pil. You are one of those." _Some, like me, are out of that group_. "it's fine, as long as you're happy I will support you. Now, let me go to my room and revise something, okay?"

Wonpil nodded. After all, his hyung liked to spend time alone and, well, his mind was full of having Sungjin's phone number finally. Now he could text the other one whenever he wanted. He was excited. * _Is this how Jae hyung feels when he receives Younghyun hyung's text messages? He seems so excit- Wait, does he feel something at all?_ The brunette blinked and watched the older's figure go to the corridor.

Jae went to his room and closed the door. _At least one of us two will be okay with whatever goes on with his life... At least one of us two._ He stared at his phone and then looked at his laptop. _Time to take care of that translation, Jaehyung. Time to focus on work. Time to forget about a certain person._

And the certain person was trying to get Jae out of his head too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive, I guess. Thank you for being so patient with this story, I hope I could upload sooner. Anyway, have a nice day and see you soon in the next update.
> 
> And yes, the sungpil here is literally two idiots wanting to date but not doing it because.
> 
> And yes, Pil said trans rights.


	14. Maybe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae and Younghyun get closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: another long chapter ahead

The blonde yawned and stared at his reflection on the mirror while putting on a jacket. Jae hadn't become used to wearing a suit (or some formal clothes) to work every day yet, but he would do whatever he needed to continue working in Daydream. After all, he was _loving_ the experience. 

"Hyung, are you ready?" The blonde looked behind him thanks to the mirror. He could see Wonpil leaning on the door frame, playing with his car keys with a smirk. "Are you getting extra fancy for some reason?"

"Shut up, Wonpil. I'm not the one who could have a boyfriend but his mother c-word blocked the way."

Because we are on Tuesday and, even if the brunette and the dark-haired decided to hang out that weekend later at night... Sadly, Wonpil and Sungjin's _friendly meeting, hyung, I won't think of it as a date for the sake of my sanity_ had to be postponed a whole week because Wonpil's mother had called his son and told him to suddenly go and spend the weekend with them. And the brunette couldn't say no, not after hearing her mother super excited saying that his older sister would be there, which meant that he could see his sister's children and play with them. 

Since Wonpil knew that Sungjin probably had a child, he had investigated _a lot_ about raising one. He didn't know Sungjin's child gender (he wouldn't assume it) nor age, but he found himself going back from time to time to Google and reading some blogs written by mothers and fathers. If Sungjin had a child, he wanted to help his maybe-future-boyfriend with them and, well, gain the child's love and respect.

"Did you just censor...? Whatever. And... You could get one too if you wanted, hyung." Jae turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Stop glaring at me like that, I'm kinda serious."

"You know how much I _hate_ this topic, Wonpil."

"It's been months."

"What I went through doesn't heal in months only. But," he added when he saw Wonpil's regretful eyes. "I must admit that therapy has healed more or less some parts. Not all."

"Have you had any panic attacks lately?"

_Since I got here... Like almost three. And all in front of my boss, friend and..._ The blonde paused for a second. _And that's all, Jae. What the hell did you want to add?_ He shook his head unconsciously under the analysing stare of the brunette. He walked outside the room, not realising that he had forgotten to answer out loud to his best friend. 

Wonpil didn't insist on it and they went to the car since the CEO wanted to go to work with the American. There was no use in trying to keep their relationship a secret, especially because people had already seen Jaehyung and Wonpil together before. Maybe that was the reason why there were some rumours about how Jae got his job: some said that it was because they were friends, some said that it had been because they were _more than friends_... And some came up with the theory that Jae had got his job thanks to a rather intimate relationship with the boss of the Global Connection Section, Kang Younghyun.

Because workers had noticed how much Jaehyung and Younghyun seemed to be at ease with each other. Almost everyday mister Kang would call the blonde to his office to discuss some matters, or it would be Jae who would go and deliver some translation from some official, private and important document. That would be normal if it wasn't for the several minutes they spent together just talking, or if there were no more interactions outside mister Kang's office. 

Younghyun had never been the type of boss who gave too many praises to their workers, but he seemed to be beyond eager to compliment Jaehyung's work. Perhaps he wanted the other one to stay or perhaps he was after another _goal_. Some of the members of the Global Connection Section were coming up with several theories about the relationship between the blonde and the dark-haired.

And yes, Jaehyung had heard all of these rumours and laughed at them. _If only they knew that both Younghyun and I would hate to be in a relationship right now._

After some minutes by car, the brunette parked and got off the vehicle to enter the Daydream company building, closely followed by a yawning Jae. He had become more or less used to the attention from fellow workers there (which doesn't mean that he didn't hate to be in the spotlight, he did it with all his soul and heart and mind and life). His ears caught some people whispering as he went to the lift with the brunette, who sighed once they got in.

"Do you want me to try and stop them?" 

"It's actually funny, you know, what they come up with," the American replied clearly amused. "Rumours die if no one actually believes in them, Pil. Thought you learnt that in high school."

"Well, from my time in high school I only remember everyone licking my ass because I was the son of the owner of Daydream, me suffering from a broken heart and perhaps some rumours about how much I loved to suck dick." Wonpil shrugged. "They weren't wrong at all, but it would have been nice if they actually asked me. Like, I would have confirmed it," he added playfully. Jaehyung rolled his eyes.

"Where are your manners, boy?" He shook his head dramatically as the doors opened on his floor. "Thought your tongue was safe from bad words."

"You don't know how badmouthed I am, hyung." The brunette winked at the older, who laughed before the doors shut and the lift continued his journey to the CEO's floor.

  
  


Jaehyung went to the translation team side with a playful smile. He was in a good mood (perhaps the best he had been in years) and ready to work on whatever paper was needed, or video or God knows what. He was in charge of everything there, he was responsible for all. That's why he had put extra effort in learning everyone's name and face, besides other minor details as age or origin; he knew that he had Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Australian... Many people from different places. He tried his best to know them during the time he had been working already.

And everyone respected him since day one because Diane had already gossiped about his existence. He rolled his eyes before approaching the two-always-early Hansol and Jisoo (although Jae had been told that they liked to be called Vernon and Joshua), who were gossiping about something. A short guy named Ten was listening to them while messaging someone with a smirk on his face. Jae raised an eyebrow and closed the distance between him and both men without them noticing.

"I'm telling you! I swear that I saw the boss going with the other boss somewhere during a break time."

"What?" Joshua blinked confused. "Who are you referring to with the first boss?"

"Does that really matter right now, Josh?" Vernon rolled his eyes and grabbed the other one's shoulders. "I'll tell Jeonghan to stop playing with your mind, your braincells are on the brink of death, seriously."

"It does matter," Jae stepped in. He watched, amused, both men jumping nervously on their places. "I mean, as a translator you have to be fluent and know how to build a sentence, which includes knowing who you are referring to and, of course, not repeating the same word twice in a row. Also, I asked you to call me Jae-ssi or hyung, not the boss." 

"Sorry, bo- hyung." The blonde smirked at the younger man. "I will work harder."

"I hope so, or I'll smack you with a brick, Hansol."

"Wait, really?" Joshua's eyes grew bigger as Vernon took a step back. Ten laughed in the background because he found them stupid.

"What? No!" Jae almost facepalmed and sighed. "I don't even have a brick to smack you with-"

"Who are we smacking with a brick?" Diane's voice was heard. Jaehyung turned around while he watched the rest of the team approach. He smiled softly. "Jae, by the way! I have great news.~"

"And those are...?" He replied, expectant. Diane giggled.

"I found you an apartment!"

"Wait, really?"

One of the methods Jae had used to become closer to his team was being as honest as possible while answering their questions. Of course, those questions had gone from asking about his age and hobbies (and some major jobs he had done) to more personal stuff, like where he was living while being there in Seoul. Jae had answered that he was staying with a friend but hoped to _get out of there, please, I need my own space_. However, the blonde admitted that he had no time nor idea of how to search for an apartment for himself.

And Jaehyung sincerely thought that Diane was an angel fallen from Heaven because she had been the one who worked the hardest to make him comfortable at the company. She had been a great help while trying to socialise with all the members from the translation team, who had different schedules. And even some, like Ten, were there only certain days, when their work was needed for some reason. The American still tried to remember all of them.

"Yes, Jae!" The woman smiled happily. Jae smiled back, not noticing how some of the people there stared at him because, well, he had a cute smile. "A friend of mine is moving out from his apartment because it's too small for his family and he's looking for someone to fill in, you know. The apartment is beautiful, I've been sometimes there."

"Could you send me their contact phone?" The blonde asked. Diane immediately took his phone to do it. Seconds later, Jae received a message: 'Sam Hammington'. "Isn't he a...?"

"A comedian? Yeap. I have interesting friends, Jae." The girl winked an eye and went to her desk to work.

Jae shook his head in disbelief and hid his excitement. He _had to_ tell Wonpil about the apartment news. He messaged him quickly and put his phone in his pocket when Minghao, a newly hired Chinese translator, approached him to ask him something. It was going to be a long day, indeed.

*************************

"And with that, we're done."

The dark-haired let out a sigh and took off his glasses. He usually didn't need them, unless he was going to read from a screen for hours and, well, his eyes hurt a _little_. He looked at the wrist where he wore a watch: it was quite late already and he was sure than even Wonpil would have gone home. _Ah, no, it's Tuesday... He'll probably be on his way to Pandora to see his Romeo_. He let out a small laugh at his own thought.

Actually, Younghyun was glad that Wonpil's love life was going well and finally reaching more than a death point. He knew how much the brunette had gone through and, well, how much he had yearned for Sungjin for _years_. And perhaps he had been the first one to notice some subtle changes on Sungjin's attitude towards Wonpil during the last years, but he didn't give it too much thought. 

He disliked listening about dating, didn't he? _Don't I?_

Actually, Younghyun had been giving it some thought during the past few days. He was still against falling in love with someone as madly as he did once, and as dangerous as it was. He didn't want to go through another broken heart because he was too _naive_. He had learnt his lesson well during college. Well, lessons: first, that some humans are monsters; second, that some people only want to see you fall when you're too good (and Younghyun was an A* student in college, always the first one and highly praised by professors and colleagues); third, that love is a dangerous game where you can lose it all, a weapon to be used against you by who you less expect it. 

The dark-haired shook his head and noticed how long his bangs were. Usually, he wouldn't realise it until his hair was too long because he used to prefer it to be up. Lately, he liked to keep his bangs down. He knew the _reason_ , he knew _why_ , but he wasn't going to admit it out loud. After all, that reason was the one who was making him rethink about why he hated dating so much. He was the type of person who wanted to appear _perfect_ in many ways, without flaws so anyone could actually break through a hole in the wall and found how vulnerable he was, but maybe someone was close to doing so and it was terrifying.

Younghyun looked at the ceiling. Perhaps he was tired of playing so much the always-perfect Younghyun and just wanted to give it a rest. He was as sincere and close as he could with his workers, but it wasn't enough to feel like he could be _himself_. He even had to keep the façade sometimes in front of Wonpil, although it was a stupid act because the brunette knew him _too well_ , as he was really sharp when analysing human personalities and, well, insides. 

Anyway, he stood up and started to tidy up to finally leave the company building and go straight home. He would probably watch some episode from a random Netflix series before going to sleep, or maybe read another chapter of the book he was into those days. Whatever the choice, it was only to make him even more tired to sleep well that night. He smiled briefly at the thought of some _rest_. 

He left the office after turning off the lights and close it with the key. He then turned around and while heading to the lift something caught his attention: some light was coming from the translation team section, quite far away from his office. Curiosity peaked through his tired mind: who would still be at the company? After all, all employees had left hours before. Younghyung blinked twice and headed there ready to nag whoever was the one staying over.

That was, of course, until he saw a Jae humming some melody he was listening to with his headphones, looking as beautiful as always with his formal attire and concentrated on the screen while typing something. 

The Korean man lost his breath for a second and almost laughed. _Of course, it had to be Jae, right? Of course, it had to be him_. He hesitated for a second: should he approach him? He would scare the blonde, he was sure about it. That's why he grabbed his phone and sent the other one a message before since he could see the American's phone on the table. He watched, amused, how Jae looked at the phone and grabbed it without taking his eyes from the computer screen, only to then (finally) gaze towards the phone and see who had sent him a message.

And perhaps Younghyun lost his breath again when he saw Jae's smile after reading his name on the screen. The older one let out a giggle unconsciously without knowing that he was there, so the dark-haired quickly left the zone and waited outside. It would beyond _awkward_ if Jae caught him there staring. After all, he could feel his cheeks red and his heart going faster. _Why did he react like that? Is he always this happy when I message him?_ His phone buzzed and he looked at it.

**Jae hyung :)**

> _ hey, stayed late today at the company... Are you the one in the translation team part? _

_ ah yes haha i had to revise something before going home :(  _

Younghyun smiled and leaned against a table.

> _ do you want me to drive you home? Have you eaten? _

_ mm okay and nope, was too busy haha  _

_ don't nag at me hyun  _

_Hyun?_ His smile grew wider. And he noticed that. And it was okay. After all, he was chatting with someone important, who just gave him a mini nickname perhaps, the guy who lived rent-free lately in his brain and that was making him change his mind about dating or feeling something for someone.

It was scary how much power the American had over him without knowing it. But Younghyun did. Younghyun had noticed how he couldn't help it but be softer towards the older one, to get lost in his eyes each time they spoke at the company or just wait for his messages at night. And as much as he was terrified and knew that it was a bad idea, he still wanted to be close to the blonde guy.

Jae was a box full of surprises and mysteries and he wanted to know as much as he could with the other one's consent. 

> _ I won't, I guess,,, have you finished? _

_ yeap, just typed the last words haha _

> _ then I'll wait for you here :) hurry up hyung _

_ J: ok _

  
  


Minutes later both Jae and Younghyun were in the younger's one car. The blonde had turned on the radio to fill the car with some music. Not that the silence was uncomfortable between them: Jaehyung felt always at ease with the dark-haired, maybe because the other had seen him several times in a bad state and he had nothing to hide (well, he did, but yeap). He noticed that Younghyun wasn't heading to Wonpil's penthouse and that made him anxious.

"Where are we going?"

"I want to take you for a dinner," the driver replied. "You haven't eaten, and neither have I. So we can spend our time together, no?"

Jae nodded before thinking twice. _Wait, what?_ He stared at the streets they were passing by. _Why did I say yes? I just wanted to go home before... Free food I guess. And Younghyun. Yeap. Nice mix. But why is it nice? Because it's a friendly gathering. Friendly date_. He blinked. _Two friends being friends because we are friends and it's time for you, brain, to get it just exactly how it is._

The Korean man turned right and glanced towards Jae briefly. He knew enough about body language to see that the other one was slightly uncomfortable but didn't seem to be against the idea. That relaxed him a little. He drove until they reached his favourite restaurant and stopped the car. Then he turned towards Jae, who was expectant at what the other one would do.

"Listen, hyung. If you don't want to do this, I can take you home. I just thought that since we're friends it would be nice to eat together and talk outside the company or, well, our screens," he joked while thinking of calls and messages. His eyes became softer as he smiled to the blonde guy. "I only want you to be comfortable around me, Jae, and to let you know that you can trust me as much as you trust Wonpil."

_But I do trust you_ , Jae wanted to say. _I trust you so much that I'm scared._

"We..." Jae started and looked at the door car. Then he opened it and stepped outside before smiling at Younghyun's confused and hopeful expression. "You promised me food, I'm not going home before taking it, Younghyun."

And there it was. The bright smile he had become used to, the one he liked to provoke on the younger's face. Probably he should talk about it with Hajoon because it wasn't normal and it was making his mind go dizzy. But he liked that Younghyun tried so hard to... befriend _him_. _I'm not so special, but thanks_.

Younghyun _rushed_ to his side with an excited look and Jae just felt like he was seeing some new side from the dark-haired. Maybe. Anyway, they both headed inside the restaurant. The blonde was glad to be wearing his work attire because the place looked expensive as _hell_. _Eat the rich, guys, eat the rich_. He just followed Younghyun and his confident way of walking. _What could go wrong?_

  
  
  


"Listen, I might be a translator and know many languages, but I'm not understanding a single thing of this menu."

The dark-haired let out a chuckle. Jae's face was full of confusion while reading the names of the dishes. He could sense the waiter approaching from the back, so he grabbed Jae's menu from the other one's hands.

"Trust me, okay? You told me about your allergies."

"You remember them?"

"Of course I do, hyung. I remember everything you've told me," the Korean answered as calm as possible. Jae was about to ask _why_ , but the waiter finally arrived at their table and asked for their orders.

The blonde stared at Younghyun without any discretion. After all, they were on a friendly date together. _He doesn't seem the type of guy who brings friends to fancy restaurants, but maybe he's done it before. With Wonpil, for example_. Jae gazed towards his hands when Younghyun turned his head towards him. He could feel the other one's eyes on him, and he found himself liking it. _Stop there, brain. Stop there._

"So? Busy day?" The dark-haired grabbed the bottle of water and poured a little in Jae's glass. The blonde muttered _thanks_ and took a sip. He was _thirsty_. "I think it's the first time I've seen you stay so late."

"Minghao wanted me to revise some documents and we had technical problems with the computers. Also, I took part of my time to call someone and I decided to compensate it somehow," Jae shrugged. Younghyun leant forward, interested in his words. "I had to arrange a whole meeting this weekend."

"This weekend? For what?"

"Ah, I'm probably moving out," Jae scratched his nape. "Living with Wonpil is fun and all, but I want my own space. I'm done with sharing space with people, yeap. I want a place which I can call _mine_. So...," he interrupted himself for a second, gathering his thoughts, "I called a contact someone gave me and I have to go this Saturday to somewhere quite far. It'd be easier if I had a car."

"Don't you have Wonpil to ride you there?" Younghyun took a sip of water.

"He has a date with Sungjin finally, I don't want to ruin it. I guess I'll have to take the bus," he sighed, resigned. 

"Can't you go any other day? Like Monday?" 

"On Mondays, I go somewhere, remember?" Younghyun nodded. "I can't call my sessions off."

_Sessions?_ The dark-haired repeated that word in his mind several times. _Right, he goes somewhere but I don't really know where or why._ Jae sighed and took another sip of water. 

Then Younghyun had an idea.

"I can drive you there on Saturday and wait until you finish." Jae shot him a shocked look. "I mean, I don't have anything extremely important to do and I would like to help you."

"Is this your way of asking for a second date?" The blonde joked. Younghyun's eyes sparked with interest and the American gulped, suddenly thirsty again.

"Maybe."

Jae's heart was about to escape his chest. _W-what? What does he mean maybe?_ He waited some seconds to see if Younghyun laughed or let him know that it was a joke. The other one just smiled at him. The waiter came with their dishes and they just sat there, eating in silence. 

Then Younghyun came up with a stupid conversation subject and they both let that scene slid for the rest of the night, even if both had it in mind when they went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there,,,, took some time to be here again. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter this time too... I thought a lot about the progress between these two adults and, well, I hope it makes sense... 
> 
> Stay safe and healthy, remember to wash your hands and vote for DAY6 for the MAMAs!


	15. New apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae goes to see his possible new flat and Younghyun goes with him.

Words have greater power than we usually believe they have: a compliment can make our day, an insult can make us feel horrible. As a translator, the American knew how powerful words were, yet he found himself being haunted by a single, insignificant adverb: _maybe_. Perhaps it wasn't the word itself but the meaning behind it and the person who had answered to him with it what haunted him and didn't leave his mind since the previous Tuesday, though.

Jae took a step out of the shower and covered himself in towels and a bathrobe. He used to get cold easily after showering, especially during winter. Therefore, he tended to have several layers of towels over him for some minutes before dressing up. However, he took a moment to stare at himself in the mirror, a little blurry due to the steam from the hot water he was using minutes before. _How long has it been since I looked at myself...?_

He took a step closer and tried to see all those things he hated from his physical appearance: for example, his eyes. _He always mocked how small they are._ He blinked several times with disgust at his own thought and grabbed the fake glasses for aesthetic and to hide himself. He stopped before putting them on. _Many people have called them pretty, though... Like Wonpil. Or Younghyun_. He gazed at the glasses. _He said I look good without them._

He put them on. _I'm not confident enough to show my eyes like this yet._

The American started to dry himself with all the towels. After all, he was kind of in a hurry: he had fifteen minutes before the hour when Younghyun would pass by and take him to his maybe-new apartment. The younger man had insisted in helping him a lot and Jae had no will nor true reason to turn his help down, nor he wanted deep inside: he always had a great time with the other man. _Too much of a great time. We started last time like this, too._

"But he isn't like that, right?" He blurted out without thinking. Sometimes he liked to speak out loud, it helped him think better. He dried his hair and then stopped. "Well, we thought the same from many other people. How long have I known him? A month only? Wait, it's been a month already?" He rushed to his agenda and counted the days.

_Four weeks and some days, yeap. I wonder if I'm spending or wasting my time here._

He threw the agenda to the bed and opened the closet. He wasn't looking for a fancy style that day: Diane had told him the previous day that Sam Hammington would probably meet him wearing a hoodie and some running trousers, so he could go as comfortable as he wanted. However, Jae still wanted to wear something nice... Obviously to make a great impression on the comedian. Nothing more. Anyway, the blonde grabbed some random shirt, a jacket and some jeans: simple but always stylish enough. 

Also, he didn't forget to grab a coat before realising that it was way past the time that Younghyun was going for him. He shouted goodbye to Wonpil, who was watching some drama since he had a day off (the brunette knew that he wouldn't be able to work that day, nervous for the afternoon), and wished him luck with Sungjin and the date. He heard something along the lines of _it is NOT a date, hyung!_ before closing the door and running to the lift.

Once he got out he looked left and right. His eyes immediately recognized the dark-haired's car near the entrance and he smiled, relieved. The driver was still inside, using his phone with a smile on his face. Jae approached the car and knocked on the passenger's window, hoping to get the Korean man's attention - he wanted it. Younghyun turned his head and shot him a brighter smile which made Jae think about their situation since that _maybe_ *.

Those days had been quite tense between them. Even if Younghyun acted as usual, Jae couldn't help but overthink about their improvised dinner together. Yes, he had fun with the dark-haired (as always) and he was thankful for how caring his boss was. But that had to be it: his mind shouldn't read some ulterior motives for the other one's actions, because he was sure that his boss was the kind of person who went out of his way to shower with love those he cared for. And Jae was more or less sure that he had a place in that list.

_Only God knows why I am in there. I hope God gives me support and helps me find the truth in this confusing moment in my life, and that he helps me regain peace again._

Jae heard the door unlock and got inside. He threw his coat to the backseats and put on his seatbelt. He could feel the dark-haired's stare on him and his heartbeat going slightly faster as a result. He wanted to smack himself but controlled the urge and just looked at the other man.

"Are you waiting for the car to move on his own? Are we in Optimus Prime?" Younghyun chuckled after hearing Jae's sarcasm.

"I was just thinking that you look great today, hyung, nothing else," he replies while turning on the car.

_He's always like this, why does it feel different now...?_

  
  


The blonde marked on the car's GPS the address before the younger could even ask for it. Younghyun felt as if Jae had read his mind, which was something that happened a lot: maybe he was about to say something and the older one acted or the other way around. He hadn't really stopped to think about that connection before. It could happen to anyone. However, now his brain was catching any hints to create a whole film in his head and just make him feel like going deeper and deeper.

For the second time, the American felt that the drive with Younghyun was slightly uncomfortable. And the first one had been the same night from the 'maybe'. _That day is so cursed in my mind, it changed my whole world, gosh_. Before he could realise, the car stopped and he found himself in front of a nice, tall building with a small garden outside. He whistled for himself. 

_This looks fucking expensive_.

"So? Which door is it?" Younghyun calmly asked while getting outside the car. He leaned inside for a moment to take his coat and Jae's from the backseats and tossed the American's to the blonde, who muttered a small _thank you_. 

"I think it was one of the fourth floor. I sincerely hope that there's a lift, I'm not using my beautiful, obviously fit legs to go four floors upstairs."

"There is one," the dark-haired confirmed confidently before approaching the main door. Jae followed him, confused, and opened his eyes as much as he could once he saw Younghyun putting a code and opening it. Then the dark-haired took a step back and let the other guy pass. "Pretty boys first."

"I'm not going first then," Jae replied impulsively. The Korean raised an eyebrow and pulled Jae inside.

"You are," he said with a rather flirty tone and the American felt chills going down his spine. He looked around and found not one, but two lifts. _Eat the rich_.

"So? Are you going to tell me why you know the password or are we playing dumb?" He asked as soon as they got on the lift. Younghyun smiled mysteriously. "I'm no detective, but... Do you live here?"

"Sixth floor, apartment C, if you ever want to pass by," the other guy replied while pressing the fourth-floor button. "Believe me, I didn't know until we were almost here. I don't usually use the GPS to get to my home, you know."

_Makes sense, yet I'm in a sitcom or something. This can't be happening to me._ A bell rang and they got out the lift. Jae went straight to one of the doors after reading the letters and pressed the doorbell, only to hear a _coming!_ from the inside. Finally, the door opened and revealed a white guy wearing some hoodie and some sweaty pants, beard from one or two days and the eyes of someone who hasn't slept too much in days.

"You must be mister Park Jaehyung, right? Diane talked a lot about you!" The owner greeted him with a bow and Jae copied him out of courtesy. The man looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Oh, didn't know that you would come with a friend... or boyfriend."

"He's-"

"I'm just his driver, Sam," the Korean man laughed and Sam slapped his forehead.

" **Yo, Younghyun! Weeks since I last saw you, didn't recognize you at first. Then? Became a driver?** " The comedian changed to English with an Australian accent and Jae smiled. 

" **Well, you know I do everything for my friends, Sam. Anyway, show Jae the place around, I will go to my apartment and come back in some minutes, need to take care of something,** " the Korean mysteriously replied before waving goodbye. Jae watched him go upstairs. _I fucking love his accent_.

" **Isn't he fascinating? He's quite the hardworking man, yet he's taken sometimes care of William and Bentley, my two sons** ", Sam explained in English. Jae nodded.

" **He is... May I go inside?** "

" **Of course!** "

****************************

"This test must be wrong."

Younghyun left his laptop beside him and sighed. He was on the grey sofa in his apartment, trying to concentrate on some work while leaving Jae alone with Sam Hammington two floors below. He couldn't believe that Jae would, maybe, move to the same building. He knew that Sam was probably moving out ─his wife told him once when they met each other in the nearest supermarket to the building─, but he didn't _imagine_ that the same guy who made him want to hide under his sheets would be moving near.

_Another excuse to see him out of work, huh. Life surely hates me._

His eyes wandered through his living room. It was cosier than his office: he could see many photos with the people he loved, like the one where a small Younghyun was on the shoulders of a younger version of his father, or the one which was taken when he won some random basketball tournament during his first college year. He smiled, nostalgic when he remembered how he met Don, one of his best friends, or Jaebeom.

College Younghyun was the biggest nerd ever. Well, no. He didn't fit the physical stereotype of a nerd. In fact, many people considered him to be a model or a trainee. However, as much as his looks were stunning, his social skills were poorer and, well, maybe he didn't feel comfortable with random people. He'd rather be studying than going too crazy parties and befriending whoever passed by. That didn't mean that he wasn't down to have some fun, he still hung out with his closest friends and sometimes had some one night stand here and there.

That was until he met _him_ thanks to Eric.

His foxy eyes stopped his journey around the room on his laptop. Right, he was trying to focus on his work. Not that it really happened: he had given up even before trying, something rare on him, and just looked up random lyrics to sing to himself and calm down. And maybe he had gone from singing something angst to romance songs to looking up stupid tests on the Internet.

"Just because I've made twelve Buzzfeed and Quotev tests which assure that I like the person I have in mind, it doesn't mean that it's true," he whispered to himself. Then he let out a laugh. "Who the fuck I'm kidding? We got it bad." He stood up and paced in circles.

The Korean stared at the clock. It had been half an hour since he had left Jae with Sam and he still had no message from the blonde. _Because he will message me when he's finished, right? I'm his driver, after all..._ He scratched his nape and laughed at his pathetic self. 

"This is what I've been avoiding for years, and when it comes back it is with the person who hates this emotion the most. Is this some kind of karma for any bad deeds I've done...?" He closed his eyes and let out another sigh. "We can't let anyone see you like this, Younghyun. We promised ourselves that. Yet I kind of want him to brush my hair aga-"

The doorbell rang and he opened his eyes. As silent as a cat, he sneaked to the door and looked through the peephole. _Could be the mailman or mailwoman... But it's actually even better._ He slightly opened the door and stared at the person in front of him while trying to decipher and process the image.

After all, he was seeing some hardly sweaty Jaehyung with his coat and his jacket folded on one of his arms, his bangs a mess and his glasses almost falling. He looked relieved to see Younghyun, as he cracked the happiest smile in the world. And the dark-haired's heart just sunk even more. 

"Did you run a marathon? Are you okay? Do you want to go home? You could have mess-"

"Drop the Chicken Mama act, Hyun. I ran upstairs because I wanted to share the news: I'm moving! I'm having a place for my own!" Jae's happiness was so contagious that Younghyun couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, and the sweat...?"

"I'm no athlete and those stairs must have come out straight from Hell," Jae groaned and tried to tidy up his bangs. His aesthetic glasses fell from his nose.

Even before he could react, Younghyun grabbed them mid-air. The blonde showed the palm of his right hand, expecting the younger to deliver them back, yet the other one just shook his head and went back inside the apartment. Jae gulped and followed him, taking care of not leaving anything outside and, well, taking off his shoes once he got in.

"Hyun, give me my glasses back," he followed the younger one around. Part of him gazed towards the interior decoration of his boss' apartment, yet his mind was focused on his way to hide. "Younghyun, come here."

"Nope," the voice of the younger had that teasing tone which Jae had grown to both hate and love. The dark-haired stopped walking and turned slightly around. "So, mister new neighbour, mind telling me why you wear these fake glasses? No crystals and you look great without them."

"Stop doing that," Jae huffed unconsciously. 

"Do what?"

"Teasing me and telling me I'm handsome and pretty and that kind of stuff. You don't need to praise me so much, nor try to gain me by using compliments. Usually, people just say nice things to others because they expect something from it. And I'm not worth nice words," he added in a whisper. He diverted his gaze from Younghyun, who stood there after losing his smile.

"Jae." _No hyung?_ "Hey, Jaehyung. Look at me." 

Jae felt a hand on his chin and he was forced to stare at Younghyun, who was dangerously close. They locked eyes while Jae took a step back, but didn't release himself from the soft grip. _He does have beautiful eyes._

"I will only say it once: I don't say things that I don't mean. I truly mean it when I think that you're attractive or that you're doing a great job. If I can praise someone and mean it, I will say it. Not everyone has more reasons to do stuff than being nice and respectful, hyung," his lips curved up at the end. He let Jae go and took a step back.

_Cold_.

"Now, as I was sayin-"

Then Jae's phone rang. The American grabbed it with trembling hands and answered quickly the call without even looking who was calling him. He needed to escape the situation. It was overwhelming: the fact that Younghyun's calm yet direct voice could affect him so much, the fact that he was _yearning_ to hear it again while staring at his eyes.

It was _wrong_. So _wrong_. _So fucking wrong, what the hell are you doing, Park Jaehyun-_

"Jaehyung?" He heard his therapist's voice on the other side of the phone. He cleared his throat and took some steps away, noticing Younghyun's eyes on him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I am," he mumbled. He could sense two piercing eyes on him. "What did you need?"

"Hm... I'll believe in you for now," Hajoon replied. "Anyway, I was calling because I might have to call off our session on Monday, I have to go to the doctor."

"To the doctor? Are you okay?" The blonde quickly darted several questions, worried. Hajoon laughed.

"Yes, it's only a routinary thing. You know, for when I go to the military and that kind of stuff. Will you be okay if I call it off? I can call you at another moment to see when you can come." 

"I...," he glanced towards Younghyun, who had sat on one of the sofas and was staring at his phone screen. Jae noticed that the man wasn't really paying attention to his phone, "yes, you can call it off. I can live one more week without seeing you and having you hear me rant, I guess," he joked. 

He knew that Younghyun had caught that because he slightly moved. He knew that he was going to get asked about everything. He knew it, yet he answered that because deep inside he wanted the Korean to ask about him, to show interest on him. But Jae wasn't the type to think too much about his impulses.

"Okay, then. Call you later, Jaehyung," Jae nodded and then replied a *yes* before hanging up.

Silence reigned for some seconds between the two men in the living room. Jae's eyes wandered across the room. The silence was suffocating him. But he didn't want to be the first to speak. 

"Aren't you going to ask about it?"

Or maybe he was. 

He watched Younghyun slowly turn his head and looked at him. Then the man cracked a small laugh and Jae was confused. _Is he fucking laughing at me again?_

"Only if you want me to ask, hyung. I like solving puzzles slowly, piece by piece. Mysteries are attractive, but," the Korean stood up slowly, "I won't dig into anyone's privacy without previous consent, of course. You decide how much I get to know about your life."

"How the fuck are you so understanding?" He blurted out without thinking. Younghyun shot him an amused smirk.

"Well, I have secrets of my own, which I may be or not willing to share with you someday. Now, do you want me to ask or not?" The American nodded slowly. "Who was that person?"

"My... therapist. I go every Monday to therapy since before I left the USA. And then had to found a new one here. And that's my secret place, where I spend hours ranting and just trying to... heal, I guess."

Younghyun simply stared at him for some seconds and Jae's nervousness grew more and more. He wished he could read the other man's mind. _Will he think I'm crazy? Will he still want to be close to me even if I go to therapy? Will he ask about it? I don't want to talk about it. I don't_ his _shadow to tarnish whatever is our relationship. Please, Younghyun. H_ is thoughts were eating Jae up, so he closed his eyes.

He heard some footsteps and someone grabbed his right hand. He knew who it was (there was no one else in the apartment). The other man caressed softly his hand in a soothing pace and the blonde tried to calm down. 

"Breathe in. Breathe out." _These must be the most used words by Younghyun with me._ Jae opened his eyes slowly, only to see two eyes shining with concern. His heart skipped a beat. "I might become used to this. Anyway, thank you for trusting me with that piece of your life, Jae." Younghyun wasn't letting his hand go, so Jae didn't release himself.

He liked the touch, after all. It felt comfortable. And he knew that it shouldn't feel like that.

"Aren't you going to ask *why* I go?" He whispered. The Korean shook his head. "Aren't you curious?"

"I told you: I'll only ask for that information which you're willing to give me, and you don't seem prepared to talk about whatever torments you and makes your life harder, hyung. Whoever or whatever hurt you like this, I hope they burn in Hell." Jae laughed at the annoyed tone of the other guy. It was nice seeing Younghyun getting so worked up over something related to him.

"Gosh, you're like the perfect boyfriend, Hyun. Understanding, caring, handsome and sweet," he joked. The dark-haired flashed a smile. "Such a pity that you have a love allergy," he added with a teasing tone.

"Well, I may have changed my vision of love recently," the other man replied mysteriously. _What?_ "I'm not allergic to love, I just want to avoid loving someone so deeply and crazily that I'm not myself anymore. Only once is enough."

Jae remembered their joined hands and squeezed Younghyun's in a sign of support. The man squeezed his back and laughed a little. The American felt better after that and also laughed.

"We're two grown men confessing our secrets as if we were teenagers. Anyway, I should get going. I have a lot of work to do because my boss overworks me." Younghyun raised an eyebrow.

"I might have to talk to that boss of yours. No friend of mine will suffer under my watch." Jae punched him lightly on the shoulder and walked towards the door. He remembered to grab his glasses from the sofa where Younghyun had sat. He heard the man snort. "Again the glasses."

"Part of my identity," Jae replied while opening the door.

"Don't you want me to drive you there?"

"Nah, I'll take the bus. I wasted enough of your time today. Call you later, Hyun," he added before the other one could reply to the _wasted_. The Korean sighed.

"Call you later, Jae."

And their hands didn't separate until Jae crossed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm... back! -dramatic spin-
> 
> Seriously, I kind of missed being here haha hope you haven't forgotten about this pair!! 
> 
> So... finally. After establishing their dynamic as two strangers and two friends... the falling-for-each-other arc has begun! Please stay tuned to how it will go because I'm beyond excited with how both of them are going to act
> 
> Wear your masks, please stay safe and wash your hands! For all those students out there: good luck with your exams!!


	16. An unexpected visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae and Wonpil are talking in the brunette's office when a sudden visit comes.

"So? How is Younghyun doing these days?"

Just that question made Jae choke on his coffee. Wonpil quickly tried to help him, but the American raised a hand to stop his friend. He had his breathing under control, he was sure about it. The brunette sat down again and just stared at his friend.

Jae asked himself for the 15th time why he had accepted to have a cup of tea in the CEO's office instead of working. Perhaps the reason behind was that he wanted to avoid his colleagues since they were in the middle of a huge project with some company from the United States and everyone was kind of nervous. He had already seen Johnny snap at Ten, only to be silenced by a whole stare from the Thai.

Jae wanted that kind of dominance too.

"So? Are you going to answer my question or choke again?"

_Ah, true._

"He's fine, I guess. I haven't seen him too much lately, he's always in his office."

"Well, starting this weekend you might see him in some pyjama. You know, neighbours? You moving?" Wonpil waved his hand several times in front of Jae's eyes until the American pushed it away. "You're acting weird. Aren't you happy to live near your new closest friend?"

"Am I smelling a hint of jealousy?" Jae smirked towards the brunette, who just looked away. "You know that you're still my closest buddy, right? I would give my life for you."

"Yeah, most days I know. Kinda reassuring to hear how I am number one in your heart always," the younger one whispered, "sorry, just had some hard days."

"Didn't it go well with Sungjin? You have to tell me about your date yet. We're on _Thursday_ , I've patiently waited for days already, Pil."

Wonpil's eyes wandered to his own cup. Jae knew that the other guy was hesitating and deep in thought. Maybe something had happened? Maybe Sungjin had told Wonpil something? _Does Wonpil know now if Sungjin is a father or not?_ Jaehyung changed his posture for another one which felt more comfortable, nervous. _What if he has discovered that the child we met was Sungjin's son and then-_.

"Nothing much. We got to meet a little later than we had planned to because he had something to take care of," Wonpil suddenly explained without looking at his best friend. Jae nodded anyway, "like... something important."

Jae sighed.

"Tell me about it, dude. I know you're waiting to do so."

"Maybe in some other moment. You know that I can't tell people's secrets without their consent, it's considered impolite, rude and something against my morals," the brunette quickly replied and took another sip. "Anyway, we were talking about you, Younghyun and whatever is going betwe-"

"Nothing is going between us, Wonpil," the American quickly cut off his friend, "and you know how much I despise this subject, yet you bring it up again and again. Have you succumbed to the rumours too?"

"Listen, you _might_ not want to admit, but we both know that I'm a human analyzer. I see beyond people's intentions and actions." _I must admit that, but not out loud._ Wonpil didn't wait for an answer and continued, "And I know you more than you do. I'm totally sure about it. Which means that I see your reaction to a certain guy. I'm not trying to pressure you, nor to bash you nor out you or whatever, hyung. I'm just _concerned_ for you."

The blonde's eyes left his friend's figure and the brunette sighed. _I wish I could kill that fucking bastard right now because he broke my dear hyung and no one messes with my friends._ He clenched his teeth. _Evil man_. Then he tried to calm himself down because he noticed Jae was so deep in thought that he almost dropped his cup. 

"Hy-"

"I know, okay? I know," the other guy whispered so softly that Wonpil almost didn't hear it. "I know that something is going _wrong_ in my plan, Wonpil. I came here to heal, to be far away of the people who abandoned me during the worst moment of my life and to start a new life, yet I'm making the same mistakes as in the past. We both know that I can't let this get bigger, yet here I am. Working here. Living near. And afraid of the world."

"If something I've learnt from Sungjin during these years of deep conversations is that sometimes we must go with the flow, Jae," Wonpil replied with a soothing tone. He could see the older's hand trembling. He was trying to communicate with the brunette, like emotionally, and he appreciated it. "Do you want to talk about it at any other moment?"

"I'm considering speaking with my therapist next week about it. No one can help me better than him right now. He's always praising me because I seem to have made a huge advance, but... sometimes I feel like I'm going backwards," the American left his cup on the small table in front of the sofas. "I-"

Then someone knocked at the door and their heads turned towards it. The person at the other side didn't even wait for permission from the CEO: the man just barged in, iPad on hand and the look of someone who was bringing some bad news for the leader of the whole company. Wonpil could smell what it was, but Jae was oblivious and confused.

"Mister Kim, you have a visit which won't leave unless you meet her." Those words were enough to make the brunette snort while he felt a headache arising... and coming. "Should I tell her to come in?"

"Let me say goodbye to my friend firs-"

"Kim Wonpil!"

Wonpil resisted the urge to smash his head against the wall and created the fakest smile in the world instantly. Meanwhile, Jae was busy trying to tidy up a little, since the CEO didn't seem worried about the state of his office when receiving a what-seemed important visit...? Jae frowned slightly. Wonpil wanted him out of the office before the visitant came in, which meant that that person wasn't someone who the brunette wanted Jae to meet, which meant that they weren't someone who Wonpil was fond of...

_That sounded like a woman. Not that I'm assuming anyone's gender, but... a woman Wonpil kind of despises..._

Jae watched Bambam being pushed away without a second thought by a short woman. The American couldn't calculate her age, not because she appeared young, but because Jae was the worst at guessing other people's age. She _screamed_ rich from head to toes, with a red dress which costed probably more than his monthly salary, black pointy heels, a necklace with a ruby, some diamond ring on a finger from her right hand and the black coat... with the black purse. Her hair was tied up in a bun and her eyes were scrutinizing Wonpil's physical appearance, accompanied with a grimace of disapproval from her red lips.

_I think I just met his mother._

"I will go back to my place," Bambam notified to his boss, who wasn't really listening while he gulped in front of his mother. The Thai left the room and the woman snorted.

"That man didn't want to let me get inside, he said that I have to wait for _your_ permission. Since when? I'm your mother!" 

"It's a rule from the company and you already know it, mother," Wonpil replied with a monotone voice, as if he was saying an answer again after repeating himself several times. "What brings you here today?"

"And you're bold enough to ask," Wonpil's mother sat down and crossed one leg over the other. The CEO sighed and quickly prepared some tea for her. Indeed, it was going to be a long visit.

On the other hand, Jae was uncomfortable as hell and didn't dare to even _breathe_. He was sure that the woman had noticed him, but had decided to ignore him for now. Her eyes were glaring towards Wonpil while saying some comments about his weight ( _you should eat less!_ ) and his appearance ( _cut those horrible bangs for once, Wonpil_ ). The CEO was only nodding, but the American could tell, by the hurt in his doe eyes once he turned to both, that it was actually damaging him.

And Jae felt a bad friend for being quiet.

"So, since you seem to want to play dumb... Tell me, why did you cancel your date?" Jae looked at his friend, who fidgeted, still standing. "You know how much it cost me to contact that sweet girl?"

Jae coughed. _Wait, what the hell-._

"And I appreciate the thought, mother. But as I told you during all our last calls," Wonpil took a deep breath, "I'm not interested. I cancelled the date because I had something to do, and I told her."

"Yet you were seen with a man that same afternoon." Jae felt himself almost fainting. Wonpil, on the other hand, clenched his fists.

"Did you have someone following me?"

"I was _protecting_ you, sweetheart. Just so the date would go well. You didn't come to work, skip the day and even skip your duty as a gentleman? That's not the Wonpil I raised."

"That's exactly the Wonpil you raised because I'm human, I need a rest and that man is important to me." Wonpil panicked slightly when he noticed the slip of tongue, but continued to glare at his mother. The woman uncrossed her legs and gripped the purse with annoyance.

"Are you dating that man?"

_Holy fuck, this is getting wild and I'm watching it in the first-row seat. Oh, hell. Oh. Oh. No. No. Wait._ Jae's thoughts were all over the place. The argument was making him dizzy. Memories were flashing in front of him. _Wonpil needs me here to stand against his mother. Don't do this, brain. Don't play now your old tricks._ He gasped for air and gained the attention of both Kims. 

And then he noticed the mother's smile.

"Sorry for this... quarrel. My name is Kim Hyejin, I guess you must be Park Jaehyung. I've heard and read a lot about you and, certainly, you're even more good-looking than in the pictures," she bowed slightly her head with a pleasant smile. _Thank you?_ Then she turned towards Wonpil and hardened her features, "Just because your friend is here doesn't mean you're getting away, young ma-"

"Yes, I'm dating him. I love him. I've loved him for three years and, mother, you're not taking him from me. I'm your son, not a puppet. I've already told you several times that I only like those from my same gender, yet you insist on your personal agenda. Not anymore. If you don't have anything nice to say about it, then just _leave_."

Jae whistled unconsciously.

He was beyond proud of Wonpil, of course.

"Wonpil, darling..." Wonpil knew that voice tone. The woman chuckled. "Do you think you know what _love_ is? I remember each time you've told me, but I'm your mother. I know you better than anyone. And you know my wishes, what I want you to do: fulfil your duties as my son. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, " she looked at Jae with a smile, "our family issues must be boring your friend, don't they, Jaehyung?"

"I..." Jae cleared his throat, uncomfortable. He glanced at Wonpil, who was staring at the floor. Defeated. The blonde's heart hurt a lot. "I think you have a lot to speak about," he honestly said. 

It wasn't the right answer.

"There's nothing to talk about, and less in front of one of the best translator in the world." _Gosh, I'm starting to understand why Wonpil never talks about her._ "So, what brought you here? You had an amazing career back in the USA, why did you come here?"

Jae felt that the air had stopped trying to get into his lungs. He needed to breathe, but he had forgotten _how to do so_. _What brought you here, Jaehyung? Your coward self. The one who doesn't know how to live without attention. The one who doesn't know how to live alone. You're a loner and came here for company, didn't you? You did._ His hands started to tremble again. He noticed Wonpil approaching him while the woman was sitting there, smiling at him.

"I already told you that he came for personal matters, mother," Wonpil's voice sounded so close to him that Jae wanted to hug him. 

"And I want to know those personal matters. So, Jaehyung? Do you understand me or do you need me to talk slower? Korean isn't your first language, is it?"

_Shut up. Shut up. Shut up_.

"I..." _Please, someone, get me out of her-_

Then his phone rang. He grabbed it immediately. He didn't need to know who it was: he had a special ringtone for him since the day before. Only Wonpil, Sungjin, his therapist and him had special ringtones. And Jae knew which music belonged to whom.

"Younghyun," he whispered as soon as he got the phone on his ear.

"Hey there, hyung. What's with the despair on your voice? Do you miss me so much? Should I go and annoy you while you work?" Jae smiled, ignoring the other two people. 

But Wonpil noticed that.

"Actually, I'm with Wonpil right now. Do you need me to go? It sounds urgent," he started to lie to get out of there.

"What are you talking about...? Are you okay, hyung?" Younghyun's confused tone sounded so cute that Jae almost broke out of his concerned worker façade.

"So it is urgent... I will have to go then. I'm going, okay?"

"Okay, Jae," he hang up and Jae looked at the other two.

"Seems like work calls for you, Jaehyung. Another day we will continue our conversation, I guess." _Shut up with the solemn tone. I'm leaving._

Wonpil accompanied the blonde to the door. The American mouthed a _sorry_ and the brunette just shook his head. He was used to the sudden visits from her mother. He knew that he was going to be scolded when he cancelled the date, but his heart and mind were full of Sungjin's smile. He wasn't going to give him up like several interests he had had since his father died, just because his mother said so. 

He was a grown-up and he had his own life.

  
  


"So? What was that all about?"

Jae almost screamed as he stepped outside the lift: Younghyun was there waiting with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. Behind his serious boss mode, the blonde could see concern shining in the Korean's eyes, which made his heart flutter a little. He was glad he had found such a good friend. 

"Can we speak in private?" He knew that _that_ would only fuel the rumours about the two, but he wanted to speak with Younghyun. Alone.

His boss slowly nodded and told him to follow him. Jaehyung could feel some unwanted eyes on him, so he just tried to move as fast as possible. When he finally reached Younghyun's office's sofa, he let himself fall on it and just close his eyes, relaxed. He still hated the robotic design from the office, although Younghyun had added now a plant. _Nice_. 

He felt the man's eyes on him as the other guy just leaned against his desk. He knew Younghyun so well already that he could guess how much time he would leave until he asked again or what he would do. He smiled to himself and opened his eyes. 

"Wonpil's mother came." 

With only those three words, Younghyun's eyes became colder. Jae observed the man while the Korean sighed and approached him. When the dark-haired sat next to him and tilted his head at his direction, he felt his body slightly tensing. Younghyun crossed one leg over the other while keeping his eyes on Jae.

"So? What happened?"

"She just insisted on coming inside the office, nagged at Wonpil about some blind date he didn't go to because he was too busy going out with Sungjin, told him that she knows him better, which, by the way, was a way to imply that his son is not gay just because she wants to and... just told me I'm handsome and suddenly asked why I came here. Like, she knew it was for personal reasons, yet insisted on knowing. Then you called and, well..."

"Saved by the bell, right?" Younghyun let out a brief chuckle. "Glad to be your saviour this time, Jaehyung."

"This time and all the times we've seen each other," Jae whispered impulsively. He knew that the other man had heard him when his eyes glimmered.

"My pleasure to help a friend."

Jae's heart ached. And he ignored it.

"So? Wonpil's alone with that woman?" Jae nodded. "As you may imagine, I don't like her since I met her. She's _way_ too controlling and demandant over her son and thinks that Wonpil must be going through some strange homoromantic phase. Little does she know that her son is too much into guys, especially dark-haired ones who own a coffee shop," Younghyun joked at the end.

"Quite a mood, actually," Jae let out a chuckle, "my ex-boss is quite handsome, I would totally go for him."

"And for the current one?"

That question got Jae almost choking with his own air. _Would I go for my actual boss? Is he joking still? Is he actually flirting with me?_ His smile left his face, which portrayed a concerned expression. 

"Are you serious or...?"

"I was joking, hyung. I already know I'm attractive." The Korean winked an eye and Jae relaxed.

  
  


Meanwhile, Younghyun felt like dying. Maybe it had been a bad idea to try to find out what he was feeling towards the man sitting next to him, so close yet so far away. He felt as if Jae was simply out of his reach and when he tried to approach too much, the man just built up another wall between them. Like now.

He had to hide himself behind jokes which didn't make him laugh, only to see Jaehyung happy and relaxed next to him. It had been a bad idea to look up tests, it had been a bad idea to let himself get so fond of this man in just one month, it had been the worse idea in his life to just... not put a distance between them. However, it would have been so hard: Jae was literally a clumsy sunshine, someone who made him feel like he had found another reason to wake up every day of his life with energy and hope.

Since the first day he laid his eyes on that cute stranger who asked for a hairdresser, he knew deep inside that he wanted to know more about him. He had that sad glint in his eyes that he wanted to make disappear. The blonde had captivated him with some laughs, smiles and really bad jokes. And he had fallen for him. And he had decided to do so consciously. 

And he was now doomed to know that, as much as he had a crush on his newest employee and friend, he wouldn't reach any positive nor happy ending because the man was beyond damaged and wouldn't allow himself to like anyone. Not even Younghyun. Not even the guy Jae had said that would be _the perfect boyfriend_. 

"Thanks for saving me from there, Hyun. I knew I could count on you since day one," Jae thanked him with one of those breathtaking smiles. Younghyun returned it and, almost without breathing, he added:

"Whatever you need, hyung, whatever you need."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! Happy New Year too, because we will see each other again in 2021!
> 
> Remember to wash your hands, respect social distancing and wear your masks during these holidays and, well, until corona finally goes away and we can go back to our normal routines. Please keep safe but have a fun holiday with your friends or family (in the distance) and, well, I hope you love this small (slightly dramatic) gift (btw, next chapter is the famous sungpil date).
> 
> See you later :)


	17. The famous date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going back in time a little: the same day Jaehyung goes to see his new place, Wonpil and Sungjin meet up for their date.

"Did he even listen to me?" Wonpil mumbled after the door closed and he was left alone. As far as he knew, Jaehyung was going to see his possibly-new apartment and he was going to be brought there by Younghyun. The brunette rolled his eyes: Younghyun had _never_ suggested driving him anywhere, not even when he didn't have his driving license yet. 

And he was going out of his way to help Jaehyung, who seemed oblivious to the extra attention the dark-haired showered him with. Wonpil clicked his tongue, unsure about how to feel about the situation. Yes, it was nice to see that Jae was opening himself to other people and that Younghyun was leaving aside his hate towards love, or so it seemed. However, the brunette was concerned for the American's mental state and health: he knew that, as much as he had witnessed how much Jae giggled when speaking by phone with his boss, how much happier he seemed each day (and when he asked, _today I had coffee with Younghyun_ or _Younghyun asked me about something stupid but funny_ were the answers)...

  
  


... the American would never admit that, deep inside, he was attracted to the Korean man. He was beyond hurt by his ex-lover, who Wonpil personally hated even if he didn't know his entire name (Jae never told him more than a nickname he used to call him). He was the one who heard Jae's voice on the other side of the phone when all happened and... ended. He was the one who suggested Jae flying to South Korea to forget and heal. 

And he wasn't going to let his fragile hyung be hurt again. 

"I'm going to tease him later, asking him about his date with Hyunie hyung," Wonpil said to himself. He had stayed home because he wouldn't be able to focus on his work, thinking about his own date.

Date with Park Sungjin. His heart raced a little by the thought and he giggled. He felt like a teenager going out with his first love, only that he had passed that stage of his life long ago and this wasn't his first love, but the _love of his life_. He was _sure_ about it. 

And, by the way that Sungjin acted the previous days, he was sure to be on the right path. After all, it had all started when Wonpil got Sungjin's phone number finally: he would text the other guy randomly or receive messages from him while they were both working. They weren't too personal at first, just the Pandora boss asking him if he had eaten, if he liked the weather or stuff like that. Wonpil, however, knew how to see beyond those boring messages and appreciated Sungjin's concern towards him. 

Wonpil had been the first one to drop the first emoji. It had been after the weekend, on Monday. He had woken up in such a wonderful mood that he had texted something along the lines of _good morning sungjin hyung 💕_. He had panicked once he noticed that he added a heart emoji and, even before he could try to remember if he could delete the message, it had been read by the receiver. 

The brunette had almost shouted in his office that day when he suddenly received a call from the guy he liked. With trembling hands, he had slid the answer option and brought the phone close to his right ear. He opened his mouth and tried to come up with a normal phrase to answer, but he was still panicking because _maybe it had been too much_. 

"Good morning to you too, Wonpil," Sungjin's raspy voice made Wonpil shiver. "Did you have breakfast?" The brunette could hear Sungjin doing something and he assumed that the dark-haired was already at Pandora. 

"Ah... Yes, I had. As always," he finally answered. Sungjin hummed. "Did you?" _Why is this so awkward?_

"Yes, thanks for asking," he could feel Sungjin's smile in his voice. "At the office already? I don't want to keep you away from work."

"I could say the same, I hear you doing something," the younger man rolled his eyes and laughed. "Anyway, yes, I am already in this suit and in front of a desk full of papers I need to read and sign. It's as boring as it sounds, so you distracting me is actually better," he added with a playful tone. 

"What a CEO," Sungjin snorted and laughed. "Anyway, I just called to hear your voice and make sure you were fine. Call you later again, Wonpil." And he hung up. And Wonpil was confused. And he was more confused when he noticed that Sungjin had actually answered before calling with a small heart too.

Also, things had changed when he went to Pandora. He had noticed that too. As always, Sungjin reserved Wonpil a special place near the cash machine and was the one who served him his coffee with a lot of milk and sugar. And, as always, the boss just sat with him and they talked. However, now Sungjin sat _next to him_ and brought him especial patisseries; he had his coffee ready more or less when he arrived and, when he set a foot in the coffee shop, he could Sungjin flashing a smile from ear to ear, as if he was beyond glad to see him. 

In conclusion, Sungjin was being more open about his happiness when Wonpil was around and the brunette felt his crush going deeper and deeper. What crush? His love. 

"I'm a dumb in love, but at least the dude I like likes me back," Wonpil sang for himself and turned off the television. He wasn't paying attention to the drama, as his head was in the clouds and he was daydreaming about later that afternoon: he was going to hang out with Sungjin, in a date. He admitted it was a date. There was no way it wasn't. They were going to the shopping mall to get one album for Wonpil and then hang out in the park nearby. 

He was beyond excited. Sungjin was going to close sooner so they would be more time together, or so had been the words from the older guy days before. And the brunette's heart had been touched by them. He was so in love with that man.

And then he received some messages from his Romeo and his whole mood went down.

**Sungjin hyung <3**

_hey, wonpil,,, we have to talk about this afternoon_

_I think we might have to change the hour, I have something important to take care of..._

Wonpil stared at the screen for some seconds. He wanted to scream because he had been waiting for days (years) for that day to come. _He's not cancelling the meeting, only rearranging the schedule. Less time together._ He sighed. _Maybe it is better if we don't meet if it is so urgent..._

> _ oh no :( we dont have to meet if it's too important you know,,, _

_ No. I want to see you. And I want to hang out with you. _

Wonpil's heart skipped a beat, but he ignored that with a soft giggle.

_ I'll drive to your home when I'm free again, okay?  _

> _ okay <3 _

_ see you later wonpil ^^ _

_ What could it be? _

  
  
  


"Okay, time to take care of this situation," Sungjin muttered to himself. Then he looked at his right: Dowoon was playing with his toys on the floor of the living room while he was sitting on the sofa.

After all, the child was supposed to stay with Junghwan, but the man had called Sungjin while he was working at Pandora and told him that he had to go somewhere. Jaebeom was still on his honeymoon phase. The dark-haired Korean realized that he didn't have so many people he trusted enough to let Dowoon stay some hours with them. Eventually, he called his own parents, who had moved from Busan to Seoul years before, when Dowoon appeared in everyone's lives. 

His parents were beyond excited to take care of their grandson for a day, although they had something scheduled with some friends at 7 pm. That was the time limit: Sungjin had to go for Dowoon at that hour and stay with him. It wasn't a burden at all, we're talking about his child... except that that meant less time with Wonpil, the guy he liked quite a lot and with whom he had a date, finally.

"Dowoon-ah," he called his son softly. The fluffy black hair turned at him. "Do you remember Wonpil?"

"Yes! He was nice," the child answered quite quickly.

"Do you want to see him more?" _Yes, I don't know how to introduce the idea of me having a boyfriend to my son, and better start now for the future. Maybe._

"Yes, I want to play more with him! He promised we would see each other again." The child crossed his arms. Sungjin smiled, dearly, as the image of Wonpil and Dowoon together appeared in his mind. 

_What a lovely scenario would it be..._

"Grab your coat, we're going with Grandma and Grandpa," he told his son as he stood up. Dowoon's eyes shone like stars.

"Are we playing together?"

"Sorry, but Daddy has to go somewhere," Sungjin's voice lowered as the child's smile trembled, "with Wonpil," he added. That sparked the child's interest.

"With Wonpil? Then it's fine!" The child giggled and Sungjin crouched next to him. 

"Hey, why are you so fond of Wonpil already?" He found endearing how Dowoon tilted his head.

"You look really happy when you talk about him, Daddy," was the answer of the child before going to get his coat.

And leaving Sungjin dumbfounded. _Dowoon's smart._

*****************************

Wonpil shivered and looked at the clock. It was almost 4 pm and Sungjin had messaged him minutes before saying that he was on his way to his house, so the brunette had kind of _rushed downstairs, almost tripped and said hi to a sweet, old lady who glared at him_. 

Anyway, he was out on the freezing cold street, waiting for his knight in a warm coat and a dark car to appear and take him to the shopping mall. _The guy I love and my favourite singer, IU. Best day ever._ He looked at the phone as he received a new message and sighed: it wasn't from his Romeo, it was from the girl his mother wanted him to meet and who he was cancelling a blind date with. The girl seemed to understand the situation, so the brunette didn't feel too bad about it.

After all, he was planning to go all-in with that date. He was tired of chasing (not actively) a man. He wanted the other guy to _know_ how much he was interested in him. Which was a lot. A healthy lot. Wonpil giggled to himself and squeezed his hands: he had forgotten to grab some gloves and it was too cold. 

Then he saw a black car which seemed too familiar passing by and stopping and he smiled while approaching and getting inside. He glanced towards the driver, who was _driving_ again, and put on his seatbelt before _looking_ at his love.

Park Sungjin was as cute and beautiful as ever. Wonpil could feel his heart race as he went from head to toes: his short hair, his expression of concentration while driving (which included some attractive lips pressed and fierce eyes on the street ahead), big hands grabbing the steering wheel, a nice brown coat, some white shirt under a sweater and some jeans. The brunette blinked several times as he noticed Sungjin grinning.

"Do you want a picture? I can feel your stare, Wonpil," the younger turned his head to the window and heard Sungjin's chuckle.

"Well, it's not my fault is you look handsome today, you know," he replied as confident as he could.

"You look outstanding too, mister CEO." Well, it was true that Wonpil had tried hard to look good that day. "So? Shopping mall?"

"Yes."

  
  


The trip to the mall had been full of music chosen by Wonpil in the car's radio. Sungjin found pleasant how Wonpil's taste seemed to match with his. Besides, the brunette beside him was humming the songs at first and, then, started to sing the lyrics in a low voice. For some reason, it didn't surprise the dark-haired that the angel at his side had, indeed, a beautiful singing voice.

"You could become a singer," he told the other man as soon as they got out the car in the shopping mall's parking lot. Wonpil snorted.

"Sorry, but no. Besides, the CEO position has always been my destiny and it's quite nice. Tons of work, but nice," the brunette added while stretching his arms. He felt kind of numb, perhaps from the cold temperature. He skipped around the car and went next to Sungjin with a bright smile. "Let's go, shall we? I want to get that album."

Sungjin felt like he was following some kind of puppy around the mall. However, it was worth it: Wonpil's shining eyes each time their stares met, his giggles at Sungjin's (bad) jokes and the way he smiled when he got the album of his favourite singer... Each part, each minute that passed, the man from Busan felt like his heart was beating faster and, at the same time, that he was more at ease.

He had been nervous, after all, for days. He knew that he could be extremely awkward sometimes, that maybe his jokes couldn't be fun or that he was against touching others too much while Wonpil was a touchy person. However, he found himself eager for Wonpil's hand on his and how he wanted to grin when the brunette grabbed one of his hands and just pulled him around the shop, trying to figure out which kind of music genre the owner of Pandora liked to hear.

It did feel like a date. 

While Wonpil went to pay for the album, Sungjin looked at a section of children lullabies and songs. It was December, Christmas was coming by soon and he wanted to buy Dowoon something. The child had proved several times that he had quite the connection with music since the first time they saw each other: Dowoon a small bean, almost one and with big, curious eyes, and Sungjin straight out of the military service, which he had gone soon to have time in the future and one less worry. 

Of course, Sungjin didn't notice Wonpil standing nearby, just smiling fondly at the man looking for something for his child. _Indeed, a whole parental figure._

******************************

"I can't believe you don't listen to our queen IU."

Wonpil shook his head in disbelief as he rubbed his hands in an attempt to make them feel warmer. After going to the shopping mall, buying the album and leaving the bag inside the car, they had headed to the nearest park, which was, by the way, one of Wonpil's favourite park's in Seoul. It was calm, with several paths and trees and flowers and a river. 

And banks. And stands to buy hot chocolate, which he was more or less about to need urgently. 

"Well, I don't really have time to listen to music nowadays, but I will give her a try just because you like her," the dark-haired winked his right eye and stared at Wonpil's movements. "Are you cold?"

"Only my hands... And perhaps my whole body too," he let out a short laugh and felt something warm on his hands as he was being pulled somewhere.

His chest started to feel as warm as sunlight once he realized that Sungjin had grabbed one of them and was pulling him to the nearest bank, probably to make him sit. He couldn't see the other guy's face, but he noticed that the older's ears were slightly red, which made him smirk. After all, the brunette _knew_ that it was because they were holding hands more or less. 

Sungjin sat on a bank and waited for Wonpil to sit next to him. Then he stared at the brunette with a shy expression and an embarrassed sparkle on his big, galaxy eyes. Wonpil tilted his head. "Are you oka-?"

"Lean on me. I mean," he added quickly, slightly flustered. "You are cold, I am warm. You can, you know, lean on me to get... Warm... Forget it, sounds like a weird idea."

"Sounds like a _lovely_ idea," Wonpil corrected him as he approached the other guy and let himself lean on the older's chest.

Usually, he would be embarrassed, but there was no one there to watch them be and act like a couple. Besides, Sungjin's quick heartbeat made his feel normal for once. He moved slightly and buried his face on the dark-haired's curve of the neck, which made the other one gasp. Wonpil pulled away, startled.

"Sorry, I'm used to snuggling like this when I feel cold," he honestly explained, nervous. 

"N-no, it's okay. I was just surprised," the dark-haired reassured him while he tried to ignore the fact that his cheeks felt _too hot_. The brunette let out a small laugh. "What happens?"

"You're incredibly red, hyung," Sungjin felt more nervous while hearing Wonpil's teasing tone. "Is it because of me?"

"Aren't you getting too cocky?" He snapped back and his heart fluttered with Wonpil's sly grin. _Where did the cute guy go?_ "Where did your shyness go? Am I seeing a new Wonpil?" He joked.

"It's what happens when I'm with someone I like, hyung."

Sungjin sat there, processing those words. _He said that it happens with someone he likes. We're the only person with him right now. And he's acting like this. So he must like us. Why are we speaking in plural? And does he mean like_ like _or like like a friend?_ He blinked several times and watched Wonpil fidgeting. 

_Oh, God. Is he nervous?_

"Sorry, forget that," Wonpil stood up and walked towards the edge of the river.

He was sure that his little teasing game had just ended his whole advance with Sungjin. He had planned how to tell the older man that he liked him several times during that day and the previous ones, yet he had thrown everything away and just said it in the blandest way possible.

And the other dude had just stared at him. Shock in his eyes. Thinking hard and deep. _Probably made the wrong move then. Nice try, Wonpil._ He gripped the bannister and looked at the calm water of the river. _If this was a k-drama, he would now appear behind me and tell something that 'I like you too, Wonpil', but-._

"I like you too, Wonpil."

The brunette turned around immediately. Sungjin was standing right behind him, hands on his coat's pockets and eyes on the ground. 

"Can you repeat it? I'm pretty sure that I've misheard you," Wonpil asked with almost no voice. Sungjin raised his head.

"I like you too, Wonpil-ah. I don't know which type of like you referred to, but I hope it's the same as mine."

"The one when now I ask you to be my boyfriend and we kiss?" The brunette asked and the dark-haired laughed while slightly nodding. "This isn't a joke, right?"

"It's not. I've... been wanting to tell you for weeks already. I like your wittiness, your positive mindset, your bubbly self when we're together, your kind heart. I like your smile, your slightly messy hair and the way you look at me with those beautiful eyes of yours." Sungjin scratched his nape and locked eyes with the brunette. "I..."

"Please, ask me out. I've been waiting this moment for _years_ , Sungjin," the brunette whispered. He knew he sounded desperate, yet he wanted to hear the older man saying that he wanted him as his _boyfriend_.

Wonpil's heart hurt while he watched other man hesitate. _Is it that hard to ask me out?_ His hands felt cold again and he rubbed them unconsciously, only to feel the other man's warm hands wrapping his. And his chest felt warm, too, with the soft look he received from those galaxy eyes he loved.

"I would like to, but I need to tell you something first," his raspy voice made him shiver. _Here it comes._ "I didn't try to keep it a secret, but... I'm a father. I have a five-year-old child."

  
  


Sungjin had planned how to tell Wonpil the news. He deserved to know about it. He _had_ to know about it. He had hesitated for too long about _when_ to tell him. He wanted to know if the brunette would commit with Dowoon or not. Yet he didn't expect Wonpil to let out a soft giggle and smirk at him.

"I already knew it, you silly man," he playfully replied. The older one was confused.

"What?"

"I saw you with a child during the day I went to Jinyoung's wedding, you know. I stepped outside to the garden and I saw you lifting a child who called you _Daddy_ ," the brunette explained. "That was quite self-explanatory."

Sungjin's heart sank. *Wait, that day....*

"Yes, you were with another man too. I... may or may not have thought that you were taken already," Wonpil admitted, embarrassed. "Anyway, I knew you have a child, Sungjin."

"And... you don't care about it?" He hated how insecure his voice sounded. 

And he loved the younger's soft smile.

"Why would I? Should it matter to me that you had previous relationships? Should I be jealous and hate an innocent child?" The brunette sighed and squeezed Sungjin's hands holding his. "Sungjin, I love you. And that includes loving your child, whatever their gender is."

"You know what those words mean, right?" Wonpil nodded, sure about it. "You will have to take care of him. If we... last a long time, you will be like a parental figure to him. And commit with him. Are you sure?"

Wonpil tilted his head.

"You know, I always wanted to be a father and have a great partner. And here you are, giving me the opportunity of both my dreams and asking me if I accep-"

The younger found himself being pulled towards Sungjin. Into his arms. He could feel Sungjin's front against his, his breath brushed his cold lips and he resisted the urged of just closing the distance between the two of them.

"I won't let you regret those words, mister CEO," the dark-haired whispered. Wonpil shivered.

"I won't. Are you going to kiss me now or what?" Sungjin chuckled.

"I'm a traditional guy, I only kiss my boyfriend," he joked, "so... Will you, please, go out with me?"

"I guess I could," Wonpil joked back. Sungjin snorted and chuckled. "Yes, Sungjin, I've been _dying_ to go out with yo-"

"Too much talking," the other one interrupted him and then leaned closer.

And that was the day that Wonpil discovered that there was something which he loved more than binge-watching k dramas, playing Fifa, thinking about his family (his sister, Jae and Younghyun) or even going to Pandora. 

Because Sungjin's lips on his made his whole world explode in colours and sensations. Because Sungjin"s hands caressing his cheeks made him feel conscious of how red they were and how considerate, caring and kind the man he had given his heart to was. Because kissing Sungjin confirmed just how much he loved him.

And that that guy liked him back too. And that was all that mattered to him while his lips were together, and when they pulled apart and just smiled and laughed like two teenagers. And when they spent the rest of the time until close 7 pm with their fingers intertwined and sometimes stealing kisses from each other.

And he was in paradise when his boyfriend brought him back home, waved him goodbye and Wonpil could see how much the guy liked him in his big eyes. And he was still wearing a stupid grin on his face when he opened the door and caught Jae bouncing happily while screaming _I have a new place to live, Pil!_.

And maybe Wonpil didn't know too much about Sungjin's child, only that he had a son. Nevertheless, he was excited about the future. And for whatever could come.

Even if it would be a hard time for someone he cared for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Happy new year, lol. 2021 has started in a really powerful and dramatical way, BUT. Here you have the sungpil date!
> 
> Remember to stay safe and healthy. Thank you for reading, leave your comments if you want (I do read them at some point). Bye!


	18. Birthday boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jae has finally moved to his own flat and, while thinking deeply about Younghyun, receives an invitation from Wonpil to attend Younghyun's birthday party. And he goes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really long chapter.

"Finally."

Jae dropped on the sofa, feeling beyond exhausted. After his work time had ended that Friday, he had moved his stuff to his new flat. Certainly, he didn't have too much: what he brought more than a month ago and some clothes Wonpil had insisted on buying for him. Therefore, it had been just two suitcases. At least he got help from Wonpil, who had sent his driver. _I do forget sometimes that this dude has a driver and he's from a rich family, for God's sake_. 

Anyway, the blonde had been busy until late at night trying to put everything in its place and becoming used to the flat. He loved how much space he had. After all, it had been the home for a family of four members, _of course_ it would be spacious. He had walked around the whole place again and again, trying to remember all the details: a short hallway right after the entrance, with a door at the left for one of the bathrooms. The hallway ended in the living room, a spacious place with two sofas, black and white coloured and with several pillows, and a huge TV, plus several places where he could put stuff like books, movies and games, once he bought them.

The living room was connected to the kitchen, which had a table to eat and was equipped with all the basics, as well as a balcony and another hallway, which connected with a big room, used by the previous owner for his children, and the bedroom. Jae _loved_ the bedroom: Sam had left the big bed behind, which meant that he had a lot of space to lay down and relax, sleep or read if he wanted. The room had several closets which the American wanted to fill up with more clothes than the ones he had. Oh, and the previously-children-bedroom had changed its purpose: it would be Jae's office. He was waiting for the desk and bookshelves he had purchased.

Until then, he could work in the living room quite easily.

Jaehyung sighed. It was certainly a change from Wonpil's penthouse, although both places were quite similar. Just at a different height and with a different monthly cost. The American had once seen the pay bill before Wonpil could take it off his hands and he had almost screamed after seeing so many zeros. Since that day, he tried to use the least electricity and water possible in Wonpil's home, as he felt bad for his friend. Now, he would try to be conscious of everything because he was going to pay his own bills.

Which made him feel excited.

"So... What should we watch?" He stared at the TV. He zapped through several channels and stopped as soon as he saw some movie he already knew, but still liked to watch. He laughed as he saw the fox teasing the bunny. 

And then he got reminded of someone who had fox-like eyes.

Soon his attention went to his phone. He grabbed it and unlocked it, and let out a sigh. _No messages today, huh_. He started to go through their past conversations and noticed how much they texted at late night hours, right before one of them went to sleep for the next day (usually Younghyun, Jaehyung was more of a night owl). And he also noticed his stupid smile while reading, so he dropped his phone and bent his knees and hugged himself.

It wasn't logical to be feeling like that. Well, yes, he hadn't seen his boss during the entire day: he was way too busy with the translation of important stuff for a possible new business thing he hadn't got interested in, plus solving some quarrels between some of the translation team's members. Jaehyung had to be the voice of reason all day and couldn't even look once at his phone nor take a rest, so he hadn't realized that he hadn't seen Younghyun until that moment.

And he kind of missed him. Usually, his boss would just send something stupid which would cheer him up and make him want to work harder to, well, make him proud or something like that. He liked when the Korean would just randomly drop by his desk and speak with him for some minutes, it made him feel like the other man cared for him. _Since when did I become this clingy?_ He shook his head, frustrated at his thoughts and his behaviour. 

While drawing circles on one of his knees, he thought about Wonpil's words the previous day before her mother barged in and ruined the whole mood even more. Jae already _knew_ that something was going on. He just didn't want to admit it because he also knew that it wasn't the time for it, or perhaps it was but it was him who was scared again. _How much do I know of who Younghyun is? Almost nothing. Well, he likes to eat, he has dimples, his eyes shine when he talks passionately about something, he likes to make sure that I know he's listening to me, he looks cute with his bangs down and handsome with them up, he would love to read more but he hasn't got the time to, although he's started to give himself the opportunity to..._

"Well, I may know a lot of stuff about him, I guess," he confessed to himself while looking at the TV. The movie was at an exciting point of action, but Jaehyung found himself not really interested in it anymore, so he muted it and stared at his own hand.

He remembered how Younghyun's hand felt the previous Saturday. He had gripped it gently, as if Jae was some kind of fragile treasure and the Korean was afraid of breaking him. _I am already, though. Like a vase._ Jae recalled Younghyun's soft stare, full of concern for him and rage towards who had damaged him. 

He grabbed the nearest pillow and laid down while groaning.

"Fucking Kang Younghyun, who told you to be so caring? And what's with all those flirty jokes?" He spoke while holding the pillow over his face, so his voice came out as a mumbling noise. "Does he flirt with others so much? Because his smile is sure deadly." He punched the pillow. "No. We. Don't. Think. That. About. A. Friend." He punched the pillow each time he said a word and threw it away while breathing hard.

_Why does this feel like I'm battling against myself?_

He heard his phone ringing and just took the call. He didn't need to see who it was before answering and, well, he wanted something or someone to keep his mind busy before it continued going down a path he didn't wish it to.

"Hyung," Wonpil's singing voice greeted him with a cute tone and Jae rolled his eyes. "Cozy in your new flat?"

"It does feel nice. Do you miss me already?"

"I do," the brunette sincerely replied. He did miss Jaehyung's figure around. Jae's expression softened and he sighed. "However, that isn't why I called you! I want to know if you're going to help me for tomorrow's party."

"Party?" Jae repeated that word, confused. 

"Younghyun's birthday party!" _His what and what?_ Jae blinked several times. "Wait... You didn't know that his birthday is tomorrow?"

"No? He never told me about that..." _We haven't spoken about our birthdays, actually. I don't really like to bring mine up, last time it was awful._ "So you're celebrating it?"

"I have the perfect plan, hyung! While he's out, we will prepare something, like colourful streamers and cone birthday hats." Jae heard Wonpil's excited giggles. 

"How are you going to know if he leaves his house? Please tell me you're not stalking him, Pil. You have a boyfriend, no need to fetch another man, especially not Younghyun," he added and listened to the brunette's short laugh before realizing what he had said. _Oh, fuck._

"Especially not Younghyun, huh?" The younger teased him. Jae felt his cheeks getting redder for some reason. "Anyway, I know, I'm not stalking him. He usually goes jogging on Saturday and then to get a drink at Pandora, Sungjin told me that once. So we're relying on that information."

"Sounds quite risky... Plus, how are you going to get into his house? I would hate going to jail."

"I know the password code, plus you're his neighbour. You can open the door for me, right?" Jae blinked. _Sounds like a good plan._ "Are you in, then?"

Jae sighed.

"I am."

**************************************************

The dark-haired got into the bathroom. He had just arrived from jogging and he wanted to take a shower. He glanced towards the mirror as he took off his sweaty shirt and stared at his long hair. _I should cut it soon, it's starting to be too long and I hate it._

He walked into the shower and let the water take away the sweat from running. He liked to keep fit and, therefore, went out for a run when he had enough time. Or when he wanted to escape his thoughts and embarked on some activity which needed his entire mind and concentration to do, such as any kind of sport. 

Younghyun got out of the shower just in time to hear his phone ringing. He wasn't the type of man who had many friends, especially friends who called him: Don, Terry and Jaebeom preferred to just chat through Kakaotalk or other social media platforms, like Instagram, and Wonpil was also the type of person who would just send a message to not inconvenience him. Which he liked. 

The only person in his life who impulsively called him was Jaehyung, but the Korean knew that it wasn't him because he had a special ringtone for the American: a song which the blonde liked to hum whenever they were together and Younghyun had started to associate with the translator. He smiled at the thought of Jaehyung and ran a hand through his hair before answering the call.

"Took you a while, dude," Eric's morning voice pierced through his ear and his smile became even wider. "I thought it was a Saturday evening in Korea."

"And it is," Younghyun confirmed while grabbing a towel and putting it around his waist. "I was taking a shower."

"Oh," Eric answered and then coughed. "Then I'll make this short, I don't want you to catch a cold because you were naked while speaking with me. That sounded weirder than ever."

"Indeed," the dark-haired bit his lip, trying not to laugh. Eric's words had piqued his interest. "So? What did you want?"

"I'm flying to Korea next Monday. I will arrive on Tuesday, though," Younghyun could imagine the singer rolling his eyes thanks to the exasperated tone. "I hate long flights, but I think we have some business we need to discuss in person, you know." 

"And I'm all ears for whatever it is." Younghyun looked at the steamy mirror. "Then, should I expect you in Daydream on Tuesday or Wednesday? You alone?"

"Probably on Wednesday, the jetlag's going to kick me on the ass. And no, I'm going with some employees of mine. One of them is the current CEO of my company, you know how much I hate paperwork."

"And by CEO you mean your boyfriend, don't you?" He teased the other guy, who just let out a short laugh. "At least I'm going to meet him. You're always speaking about him, I'm actually curious about how you two met."

"That's a story which is better left in the darkness, dear friend of mine," Eric dramatically said. "Well, I just wanted to tell you the news, I guess. Happy birthday, by the way. I guess this is my present," he joked.

"Thank you, Eric."

The dark-haired man found himself walking to Pandora minutes later. It was one of those days when he didn't feel like getting dressed up in a fancy way: some sneakers, jeans, a white hoodie and a random coat he grabbed before going out. He ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to make it look nice after the shower and smiled as he almost skipped down the street. He was in a _wonderful_ mood, happy after exercising and receiving some birthday wishes throughout the day.

"Oh, hello there," Sungjin greeted him as soon as he arrived. Since some days before, whenever Younghyun went, Sungjin would strike up a short conversation with him and the dark-haired believed that it was because he was Wonpil's friend.

Which meant that Sungjin was probably trying to befriend those people who were important to his boyfriend, something that made Younghyun trust the guy since he found it endearing.

"Hi, hyung," he greeted back politely, which made the man from Busan roll his eyes. However, Younghyun had discovered that between the man in front of him and he there were too many months for him to not call him with an honorific and feel comfortable about it. Or something like that. "Just the usual."

"Peppermint, then," the other man replied and turned around to prepare it while Younghyun sat on his favourite place: the puffs. He glanced around and watched Jisung teasing Ryujin while Seungmin just stared from afar. _Interesting, usually Jisung isn't here in the afternoon_.

Minutes later, Sungjin approached and gave Younghyun his beverage, who thanked him with a nod and a smile. The owner of Pandora looked at him for two seconds and then to his workers... before sitting down in another puff. Younghyun raised an eyebrow, curious about the other man's attitude. Sungjin cleared his throat.

"So... As you are a regular customer here and we have already spoken sometimes, I thought I might as well sit down with you in a totally not awkward way and ask you how your day has been. So, how's your day being?" Sungjin smiled briefly and Younghyun let out a laugh.

"I guess that this has nothing to do with me being your boyfriend's best friend, does it?" He asked with a teasing tone and smirked as soon as Sungjin's cheeks got slightly red. "I appreciate your efforts to befriend me, though. I guess that you're doing well with Wonpil, then."

"I... Yes," Sungjin cleared his throat again, nervous due to the conversation's subject. "He's just... amazing. Wonderful. Breathtaking in every sense and way." The man from Busan felt Younghyun's stare on him and scratched his nape, embarrassed. 

"Believe me, whatever you're feeling right now, Wonpil's feeling it three times more," Younghyun took a sip from his coffee. "After all, he's liked you for years."

"Yeah... So he told me. I don't know why, but I'm glad he does," the other man sincerely replied. "So... Younghyun, you didn't answer my question."

"Ah, right. It's been quite well: I went jogging, came here after showering, have received calls and messages all day long and feel quite happy." He stared as Sungjin took out of his pocket his phone to check something and then put it there again. "Some important message?"

"Just a friend asking stuff," he shrugged innocently, but Younghyun didn't really buy it. _Who am I, though, to ask for his secrets?_ "I'm glad you're having a great day."

"How about yours? Pandora seems quite empty today," out of courtesy he asked.

"Some days are like this, while in others it's so packed up that I can't even move." _He certainly has a nice attractive voice and accent_ , Younghyun thought to himself while the man continued speaking.

For the first time in his life, the dark-haired got to see how Sungjin closed the shop after the employees left. It wasn't an experience he had on his bucket list at all, but it just happened because they were so engage in their conversation, that Younghyun wanted to hang out with the other guy, so he waited for Sungjin. It was true, after all, that the man was indeed warm and inviting, like someone who has his arms always opened for others.

_Quite the big bear Wonpil has found_.

They walked back to Younghyun's flat together, since Sungjin said that he was going to visit Jae after closing Pandora that day. Only listening to Jae's name made the other man's heart skipped a beat, and he considered it quite a bittersweet reaction from his body: as much as he now knew that he liked Jaehyung, it was so doomed to fail and end up in nothing that each time he was in the blonde's presence, he wanted to escape.

Perhaps that had been the reason why he had avoided and tried to keep himself far from the translation's team the previous day, which resulted in him missing the American's laugh, bright eyes and sweet smile even more. 

"Jae's flat is on this floor," Younghyun pointed out to Sungjin as they both went into the lift and the first one pressed the button. As much as he should be, maybe, bugged by the thought of Sungjin visiting Jae while he had to stay away from the blonde, he was calm. There was no reason to be jealous or annoyed by something he had chosen, after all.

"Oh, quite nice." _He's acting strange_ , were the employee from Daydream's thoughts as he glanced towards Sungjin, who was fidgeting and looking at his phone nervously. _Is he going to do something bad or what?_

The doors of the lift opened and Sungjin stepped outside. Younghyun waved him goodbye and let the smile drop as the doors closed. He leaned against one of the lift's walls until it reached his floor and stepped outside, walked towards his door and put on the door code with a hand while the other one was busy trying to take his coat off.

He stepped inside his own flat, coat on hand, and took off his shoes. He noticed that his slippers were a little messy, which wasn't typical of him. Younghyun frowned and looked around in the darkness of the place as he closed the door behind him and grabbed an umbrella he kept near the door just in case. 

He walked in into the living room as silent as a cat: he had received some training from his father about what to do in case of burglars. His eyes became used to the darkness and he noticed some shadow behind the sofa. With his heart racing, he approached it, ready to smack that person with his umbrella.

And then the lights were on and he had to close his eyes.

"Happy birthday, Hyunie hy-! Is that an umbrella?"

As soon as he opened his eyes, he ignored Wonpil's voice and let the umbrella drop: in front of him, crouching behind the sofa, was a Park Jaehyung without his glasses, his bangs cutely falling over his forehead and eyes opened in surprise. Younghyun noticed that Jae was wearing some casual outfit... and that the American was holding his shoes in his right hand. He observed the tall blonde as he stood up, embarrassed.

And then his vision was full of Kim Wonpil's face.

"Yah! Kang Younghyun! Could you please pay attention?" Younghyun blinked and nodded, still shocked. _Just how did they get inside...?_ "This is your birthday party!"

"Party?"

"Yes, your birthday party, Hyun," Jae answered with a soft smile. "Happy birthday, dude. If Wonpil hadn't told me..." 

"I'm sorry, it just didn't come up in my mind," the dark-haired apologized. He noticed then all the streamers and... was that a box over the table? It seemed like a gift.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let me go and get my boyfriend and, hyung... Put the umbrella on its place," Wonpil ordered him around as he went towards the flat's entrance door, leaving the other two awkwardly alone.

The dark-haired rushed to leave the umbrella back in its place, unsure of how to act in front of a casual-looking-yet-handsome-as-always Jaehyung. He didn't expect a surprise like that, but he was beyond happy that the blonde had, probably through Wonpil, decided to go and not only wish him a happy birthday but also celebrate it with him. It made his heart go crazy, which made him giggle.

He didn't notice Jae standing behind him, waiting for him to turn.

"Hey, Hyun," he called the owner of the flat softly as he heard Wonpil talking from afar, from the building's stairs, through the opened door. "Do I leave my shoes here or...?"

"Yes, yes, take this," the dark-haired gave Jae some new slippers, since he hated the idea of going without shoes around the house, and smiled at him. 

Minutes later, Wonpil arrived with a happy-looking Sungjin, who had on his hands what seemed to be a cake bought in the nearest supermarket. The birthday boy wasn't surprised at all: the plan seemed to be something thought and designed by Kim Wonpil, the master of adaptation and crazy ideas. The official couple went to the kitchen, bickering about something from which both Jae and Younghyun had no idea.

And, once again, they were left alone by themselves. They could hear, though, Sungjin and Wonpil still bickering about what to cook for dinner afterwards and when to give _Hyunie hyung the present we have bought, Sungjin! The timing is important!_ , while Sungjin only sighed but let Wonpil be because he liked him like that.

Meanwhile, Jae had made himself feel at home as he could. As he sat on one of the sofas, his mind went back to the previous week, when Younghyun had sat there while he spoke with his therapist. He shivered and looked at the hand which had held the dark-haired's again, and almost jumped when Younghyun sat next to him as casual as ever. _Stupid Kang Younghyun_.

"Aren't they lovely?" The birthday boy asked out of the blue. Then, he tilted his head and slightly smile. "I mean Wonpil and Sungjin."

"They are," Jae confirmed as he glanced towards the kitchen. He got to see Wonpil patting Sungjin's head before going somewhere, and the resulting dark-haired's smile. "I'm glad it worked out for Wonpil after all these years, you know. He deserves to be loved, and I think that Sungjin is quite the perfect match for him."

"I know, right? Wonpil needs someone he can rely on easily since he's always the one giving orders around. Today I felt what he says about Sungjin being like a warm home, always ready to let you in and give you comfort," the other guy admitted. He looked at his own outfit. _At least I'm not wearing a horrendous t-shirt, what a remarkably terrible scenario would it be_. 

Jaehyung stared at Younghyun with curiosity on his face. _Is he a match-maker? A fortune-teller? Or is he just good at reading people?_ He then gazed at the TV, still off. _What do you think would be a good match for you, Younghyun?_ He glanced to his companion and gulped as he saw the dark-haired running his fingers through his face. _Messy but attractive. God really has favourites. Lord_.

"Want to watch something? Those two seemed really eager to prepare everything by themselves. Quite domestic, if you ask me," Younghyun added with a joking tone, which made Jae smile. And that broadened his own grin. 

"We could just talk by ourselves, actually," the blonde suggested nervously. "You know, since we haven't seen each other for days ago."

"It's been two days, hyung. Am I so important in your life?" Although he tried to joke, Younghyun was expecting a blow towards his heart. 

It wasn't the first time he had joked like that, insinuating something, only to have Jae shut down his expectations and hopes. 

"Well, so it seems, since I kind of missed you." The dark-haired opened his eyes, surprised, as he watched the American scratching his nape embarrassed. "What are you staring at?"

"Nothing, hyung." He couldn't hide his happiness. _I feel like a fucking teenager in front of his crush._ "I missed you too," he added quickly and was pleased by Jae's reaction.

Which was the blonde fidgeting and hiding his face from the other guy, so that he couldn't see his smile. 

"If you missed me, you could have sent me a message, you know," the American mumbled, not sure if the other man had understood him. He hated himself for being so clingy suddenly of the other man and for knowing the possible reason behind it. 

"I could say the same," the Korean let out a chuckle and rested his head on the back of the sofa. Jae could feel some piercing eyes on him and, when he looked at the younger, all he could see was care and gratefulness on them. "Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me that you took part of your time to celebrate with me my birthday." Younghyun's low voice tone sent shivers down his spine.

"Why?" He didn't know why, but he was also whispering as he approached Younghyun to hear him better. The dark-haired didn't seem bothered by the closing distance between them.

"Because you're an important person to me. Usually, I don't celebrate it. It's just another day, only that I get older. Only Wonpil insists on spending part of the day with me each year since I met him and started to work at his company." He took a breath a continued, "I do receive calls from friends and family members, but I don't want to inconvenience them with something like this. Yet here you are."

"Here I am, yes. I don't think your birthday isn't important, Hyun. After all, it's the day you were born," Jae shrugged. "And I am glad you were. You have only helped me and been nice to me since I came here, I'm really grateful for that, okay?" In an impulse, he patted the other man's head while wearing a soft smile on his face, unsure of what to do. "Now let's drop the subject, shall we? I'm not good with emotional stuff."

"Neither I am," Younghyun replied as he gripped Jae's hand. He squeezed it before intertwining their fingers, eyes always on Jae's face to know if he was stepping over some unknown boundaries. 

Jae's smile faded slightly, nervous.

"Younghyun...?" He whispered and he looked over the sofa towards the kitchen. The couple of newly boyfriends were busy with something and didn't pay attention to the other two. He then looked back at his companion, who was just piercing his soul with his intense eyes. 

"May I ask you something, Jae?" The blonde nodded. "Will you be honest when answering?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"Not that I know." The dark-haired took a deep breath. His stare went down to their hands intertwined, holding each other strongly yet carefully. "If I asked you to hang out sometime, like out of work, only for pleasure and leisure, would you accept?"

Jae's brain stopped working for a second. _Is he asking me on a dat- no, no._

"As a friendly gathering?" He asked. Younghyun shook his head and Jae held his breath.

"I'm asking you on a date, hyung. Would you?"

"Y-"

"Dinner is ready, my friends!"

They both let their hands go as soon as they heard Wonpil approaching them. The brunette stood there for some seconds, trying to read the atmosphere with scrutinizing eyes: Jae scratching his nape embarrassed, Younghyun closing his eyes and both keeping their hands away from each other. The youngest of all raised an eyebrow.

_They were about to make out or something or what?_

  
  


Later that night, as the party was over, Jae found himself helping Sungjin to tidy up while Wonpil gave Younghyun his present (which was some clothes the man had been wanting to get, but were too difficult to get. No one dared to ask the brunette were he got them from, as he said before the birthday opened the box that _I got them in a really special way_ and giggled naughtily). The blonde accompanied his ex-boss to the kitchen to throw stuff on the bin according to the recycling rules. 

_Younghyun, the saviour of the planet._

He didn't notice when Sungjin waved him goodbye, since he was in a hurry to get to his parent's house after leaving Wonpil home and go to get Dowoon. He also didn't notice when the couple left as he tried to tidy up the kitchen, putting the dishes on the dishwasher. And, therefore, he didn't notice when Younghyun went to the kitchen and stood there, observing him work while trying to think of what to say.

The dark-haired was embarrassed for his behaviour before. _How the hell did I think it would work? I am asking mister hate-love to a date. I'm an idiot._ He sighed and caught the blonde's attention, who looked around like a deer in front of a lion. 

"They are already gone since Sungjin had to hurry to leave Wonpil and go somewhere," the Korean informed the American, who nodded. "You're the only one left since you are my neighbour and all. You can leave the rest, I will tidy up before going to sleep," he added without approaching Jae. 

"Oh, okay," the other man replied. They stood there, not looking at each other. Then Jae mustered the courage to take a quick look at the other guy and his heart felt weird and he saw the concern on his face. _Is he overthinking due to me? Am I overthinking now?_ "I will be going, then."

"Sure. Have a nice night and sweet dreams, hyung."

  
  
  


That night, Jae couldn't sleep at all while remembering Younghyun's words. _Stupid Kang Younghyun. I would have said_ yes _and that scared me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update because it's Valentine's Day and this chapter is quite sweet (or, as I call it, the calm before the storm).
> 
> As always, thank you for reading, hehe. Hope you liked it and find Jae's progress as endearing and significant as me!
> 
> Keep safe, stay healthy and let's hope the virus leaves us soon. Bye <3


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